HOW NEW YORK CITY 
ADMINISTERS ITS SCHOOLS 

ERNEST C MOORE 












SCHOOL EFFICIENCY SERIES 
PAUL H.HANUS ' 







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SCHOOL EFFICIENCY SERIES 



How New York City 

Administers Its Schools 

A Constructive Study 



"That state in which the law is subject 
and has no authority, I perceive to be 
on the highway to ruin . . . The legis- 
lators ought not to allow the education 
of children to become a secondary or 
accidental matter." — Plato. 



SCHOOL EFFICIENCY SERIES 
Edited by Paul H. Hanus 



How New York City 
Administers Its Schools 
A Constructive Study 



By ERNEST CARROLL MOORE, LL.B., Ph.D. 

Professor of Education, Yale University, Formerly Superin- 
tendent of Schools, Los Angeles, California 




YONKERS-ON-HUDSON, NEW YORK 

WORLD BOOK COMPANY 
*9 l 3 



Copyright^ /Q/J, by World Book Company. Entered at 
Stationers Hall, London, England. All rights reserved. 



6ES: MHNY I 






©CI.A343273 



To 

THE CHILDREN OF THE GREAT CITY 
OF NEW YORK 



EDITOR'S PREFACE 

THIS book has an unusual origin. During the school 
year 1911-12, I was placed in charge of the educa- 
tional aspects of the school inquiry undertaken by the 
Committee on School Inquiry of the Board of Estimate 
and Apportionment of the City of New York. With the 
approval of the Committee, I secured Professor Moore's 
services to investigate the organization and work of the 
Board of Education and the Local School Boards. 

The Committee, for reasons of its own, " rejected " 
Professor Moore's report. Soon after, it was, however, 
published by the Committee in the City Record — but 
without Professor Moore's final revision or mine, and 
with the omission of the last chapter — in a report made 
by the Committee on School Inquiry to the Board of Es- 
timate and Apportionment. 

The action of the Committee could not make Professor 
Moore's report any the less a portion of my report; it 
merely prevented me from securing its publication as a 
part of the complete report which I submitted to the 
Committee. 

Professor Moore's report is an exceptionally valuable 
document. On the basis of a comprehensive, clear, and 
convincing exposition of existing conditions, it points out 
the way to progressive improvement in the administration 
of the public school system of the City of New York; but 
because similar conditions are common throughout the 
country, we hope the book will be helpful to all who are 
interested in school administration, whether as laymen who 
wish to study their functions as members of boards of 
education, or as professional workers who are called upon 



viii Editor s Preface 

to lead in the definition of educational policies. On the 
clearness of vision and executive capacity of such persons 
boards of education must rely for the satisfactory dis- 
charge of educational responsibilities. 

Accordingly, I welcomed the opportunity, in cooperation 
with Professor Moore, to publish his report in its complete 
form, and as the first of a series of books on school effi- 
ciency to be issued by the publishers of this volume. Ex- 
cept for the final proof-reading and the addition of the 
chapter omitted from the City Record, the report is here 
published as submitted to me by Professor Moore, and 
by me included in my report to the Committee. 

Paul H. Hanus 

Harvard University, 
January, 1913. 



CONTENTS 

Page 

Editor's Preface. By Paul H. Hanus vii 

Plan of Administration of the Public Schools of 

New York City I 

Chapter 

I. The Board of Education, How Conditioned 

and Organized 4 

II. The Board of Education 10 

III. The Situation at Present in New York . . 23 

IV. The Effect of the Method Upon Education 42 

V. The Relation of School Appropriation to 
Assessed Valuation of School Growth 

Since 1899 57 

VI. Need for Simplified Methods of Accounting 

to the City 75 

VII. The Kind of Board of Education Needed . 85 

VIII. The Board of Education and Its Committees 94 

IX. Reporting Upon Cost 113 

X. The Printed Reports and Records of the 

Board 121 

XL How Estimates are Prepared 127 

XII. The Offices of the Board of Education . . 148 

XIII. The Acquiring of Sites 155 

XIV. The Construction of Buildings 165 

XV. The Care of Buildings 192 

XVI. The Furnishing of Supplies 209 

XVII. The Bureau of Lectures and Other Supple- 
mentary School Activities 220 



x Contents 

Chapter Page 

XVIII. The Local School Boards 224 

XIX. A Summary of Recommendations 233 

Appendix A The Two Hundred and Forty-One Ques- 
tions 241 

Appendix B A Chapter on the Making of the School 

Budgets 298 

Appendix C Transfers in 1912 310 

Appendix D Resignations 1N1912 311 



Index 



313 



How New York City Administers Its Schools 



HOW NEW YORK CITY ADMINISTERS 
ITS SCHOOLS 

PLAN OF ADMINISTRATION OF THE PUBLIC 
SCHOOLS OF NEW YORK CITY 

"^pHE common school system is an institution of the 

A State and not of any particular locality therein." 
(Hutchinson v. Skinner, 21 Misc. 729.) The officers 
thereof are not local, or town, or county officers, but officers 
of such state system. The control over the state system of 
common schools is vested in the State Commissioner of 
Education. All moneys required for school purposes in 
New York City are appropriated by the Board of Estimate 
and Apportionment, and the Board of Aldermen of the 
city. 

" The management and control of the public schools " 
(1061, Rev. Charter) is vested in the Board of Education, 
which is composed of forty-six members appointed by the 
Mayor for a term of five years. Each borough is entitled 
to the following representation upon the board : Manhattan, 
22; The Bronx, 4; Brooklyn, 14; Queens, 4; Richmond, 2. 
Each member is assigned by the president of the board to 
membership in one of the forty-six local school boards. 

Under the Revised Charter the Board of Education has 
the following powers and duties : 

It has the powers of a corporation ; represents the school 
system before the Board of Estimate ; it uses, controls, and 
disposes of school property ; enacts by-laws ; establishes and 
conducts elementary, high, evening, vacation schools, etc. ; 
provides training schools for teachers ; maintains the nautical 
school; maintains free lectures; appoints janitors; adopts 
or modifies courses of study upon recommendation of Board 



2 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

of Superintendents; has care and management of the re- 
tirement fund, and establishes rules and regulations for its 
administration; retires teachers ; tries charges against prin- 
cipals or teachers; approves or modifies decisions reached 
by local school boards upon trials of teachers; administers 
the general school fund, three mills on assessed valuation of 
city property for teachers' salaries, and additional funds 
granted by financial authorities of the city, and special 
school fund for other purposes; acts as board of trustees 
of the Normal College, 1 etc. 

As required by law, there is an Executive Committee 
composed of fifteen members of the board, together with 
the President of the board as its ex-officio chairman. 

The board has, by its by-laws, created the following 
standing committees, whose members are appointed by the 
President of the board: 

A Committee on Finance of five members. 

A Committee on Buildings of nine members. 

A Committee on Supplies of seven members. 

A Committee on By-laws and Legislation of five members. 

A Committee on Sites of nine members. 

A Committee on Elementary Schools of nine members. 

A Committee on High Schools and Training Schools of 
nine members. 

A Committee on Special Schools of seven members. 

A Committee on Vocational Schools and Industrial Train- 
ing of five members. 

A Committee on Studies and Textbooks of five members. 

A Committee on Care of Buildings of seven members. 

A Committee on Lectures and Libraries of seven members. 

A Committee on the Nautical School of seven members. 

A Committee on Athletics of five members. 

For the conduct of its business the Board of Education 
maintains the following offices, boards, and bureaus : The 
secretary's office, with the secretary of the board, the as- 

1 This statement is taken from the Annual Report of the Superintendent 
of Schools. 



Plan of Administration of Public Schools 3 

sistant secretary, and an office staff of twenty-seven persons; 
the city superintendent's office, with a staff composed of the 
City Superintendent, the board of associate superintendents, 
eight in number, twenty-six district superintendents, four 
examiners, and an office force of sixty-one persons ; in addi- 
tion, there are twenty- four clerks of local school boards and 
district superintendents; the Bureau of Audit and Account, 
in charge of the Auditor of the Board of Education, with a 
staff of fifty-nine persons ; the Bureau of Buildings, under 
the direction of the Superintendent of School Buildings, 
with a staff of forty-six persons; the Bureau of Supplies, 
under the direction of the Superintendent of School Sup- 
plies, with a force of one hundred and twenty-eight persons ; 
the Bureau of Lectures, under the direction of the Super- 
visor of Lectures, with a staff of eight persons; the Bureau 
of Libraries, under the direction of the Superintendent of 
Libraries, with a staff of two persons; the office of the 
supervisor of janitors, with the Supervisor in charge, and 
five persons to assist him; the Board of Retirement con- 
sists of the President of the Board of Education, the Chair- 
man of the Committee on Elementary schools, High schools 
and Training schools, the City Superintendent of Schools, 
and three members selected from the principals, assistants 
to principals, and teachers of the public day schools. 

The Normal College of the City of New York is a sep- 
arate and distinct corporation. The members of the Board 
of Education, together with the President of the College, 
are ex officio the trustees of said college. 



CHAPTER I 

THE BOARD OF EDUCATION, HOW CON- 
DITIONED AND ORGANIZED 

GENERAL STATEMENT 

THIS is next to the largest school department under 
central control in the world. 1 It must instruct 
more foreign-born, non-English-speaking children than 
any other school system in existence, and, being in 
the leading city, it has a duty to lead the public edu- 
cation of the nation. The natural difficulties which 
face the Board of Education are almost insuperable, 
but artificial difficulties have been superadded to its 
stupendous task, which render it wellnigh impossible. The 
method by which New York City administers its schools 
is that of the paralyzed arm. If money must be raised for 
school purposes each committee of the Board of Education 
estimates the separate needs of its division, the finance com- 
mittee reviews them, the board adopts them, the Comp- 
troller's staff suggests changes in them, the Board of Esti- 
mate and Apportionment modifies them, and the Board of 
Aldermen may then reduce them. When the appropriations 
are finally made, they are segregated into specific items for 
particular uses, and transfers of funds which the exigencies 
of the school business necessitate can then be made only by 
formal application on the part of the Board of Education, 
and by equally formal resolution authorizing the same, 
adopted by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment. 

1 See statistical table and tabular statement showing comparison with 
other cities (pages 5 and 6). 



Conditions and Organisations 



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6 Hon 1 Nezv York City Administers Its Schools 







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If a site for a new school house must be acquired, the 
local school board,. or some other agency, notifies the Board 
of Education, the Board of Education entrusts the matter 
to its Committee on Sites, the committee appoints a sub- 



Conditions and Organizations 7 

committee, which goes over the ground and recommends 
the site to be selected. The committee selects it, and recom- 
mends that the Comptroller enter into negotiations about it, 
and then that the Board of Education approve its selection. 
The Board of Education requests the Board of Estimate 
and Apportionment to authorize the acquirement of the site 
which it has selected. That board investigates, and fre- 
quently recommends that the Board of Education select 
another site which it suggests. The process is gone over 
again, and at length the title is acquired. If the need for 
a site has not been foreseen when the " Corporate Stock " 
estimates were made, the process is much longer, and may 
even be deferred until the Corporate Stock Budget for the 
next year is approved. 

A maximum sum has been segregated for each of the 
chief items in a building at a given location. Sketch plans 
are drawn, they must be submitted to the Municipal Art 
Commission for preliminary approval. The final plans are 
drawn. They must be submitted to the Muncipal Art Com- 
mission for final approval, the Board of Education, the 
Board of Estimate and Apportionment, the borough Build- 
ing Department, the Department of Water Supply, Gas, and 
Electricity, one after the other in order. Finally, the 
specifications and form of advertisement are sent for ap- 
proval to the Corporation Counsel. Then an advertisement 
for bids must appear for ten days in the City Record, and, 
at the expiration of this period, bids are opened by the 
Superintendent of School Buildings. If, because of any un- 
foreseen happening, the cost of the building should exceed 
the sum allowed for specific items in the building by the 
finance authorities of the city for its construction, a long 
process of securing supplementary funds must be under- 
taken. 

If premises must be leased for school purposes, the staff 
of the Superintendent of Buildings makes a report upon 
them; then the City Superintendent of Schools certifies that 
they are needed; then the Superintendent of Buildings of 



8 How Nezv York City Administers Its Schools 

the borough concerned, the sanitary superintendent of the 
Department of Health, and, in some cases, the Fire Commis- 
sioner, are asked to make an inspection of them. When 
objections are made to conditions and the owner corrects 
them, a reinspection is necessary, then terms are arranged 
with the owner, and, when all the necessary certificates 
are obtained, the Committee on Buildings recommends to 
the Board of Education that it proceed to obtain the 
lease. If it approves it adopts a resolution requesting 
the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund to authorize 
the Board of Education to make a lease in accordance 
with the terms proposed. The matter is then referred to 
the Comptroller of the City of New York, who, through 
the bureau of real estate in his office, examines the prop- 
erty and prepares a report to the Commissioners of the Sink- 
ing Fund, setting forth his opinion as to whether or not the 
action proposed will be for the best interests of the city. 
Then the Commissioners authorize or refuse the lease. 

Then a janitor must be employed to care for the building. 
The Board of Education must take his name from a civil 
service list, and must ask the Board of Estimate and Appor- 
tionment to recommend that the Board of Aldermen fix 
his salary. If his work increases to the extent of entitling 
him to a change of rate for his services, action must again 
be taken in the same manner by all three bodies, and, no mat- 
ter what the emergency, he will not be paid for extra work 
until after the date when the resolution leaves the Mayor. 

Salary schedules for each division in the offices of the 
Department of Education are fixed, and the number of 
employees allowed is specified by the fiscal department of 
the city. If the Board of Education desires to promote 
a clerk at $540 per year, or any other wage, in its bureau 
of supplies to a position at $600 per year in its bureau of 
audit and account, it must obtain the approval of the 
Municipal Civil Service Commission of the promotion, and 
the authorization of the Board of Estimate and Apportion- 
ment to make the transfer. 



Conditions and Organizations 9 

The control of all funds for lighting and power in school 
houses is turned over to the Department of Water Supply, 
Gas, and Electricity. 

On the leaching side all names, both high and low, on an 
eligible list of candidates for appointment must be exhausted, 
or three years must have elapsed before the names at the 
head of a new list can be taken. Temporary certificates are, 
with few exceptions, made into permanent certificates, and 
court evidence of incompetence must be produced before 
a teacher can be dismissed for that reason from the service. 

The legal functions of the Board of Education have not 
been clearly determined, nor have those which undoubtedly 
belong to it been enforced; and it has no general manager 
to organize and direct its work. 

REORGANIZATION NEEDED 

This condition of affairs is an accumulation of ill-con- 
sidered laws and regulations, and a service-defeating divi- 
sion of power and responsibility such as is bound, if it 
continues, to destroy the educational welfare of the city. A 
reorganization of the present system of financing and admin- 
istering the public schools of New York is imperative. The 
following report on the conditions, organization, and work 
of the Board of Education is a summary statement of the 
situation. 

The first matter which conditions the work of the Board 
of Education is the Education Law of the State of New 
York. We have, therefore, made an effort to determine 
what the law is. In this we have had the assistance of the 
Law Division of the New York State Education Department, 
and its chief, Mr. Frank B. Gilbert, has examined and ap- 
proved the legal features of our report. The financial ar- 
rangements which condition the work of the board naturally 
call for attention. A greater time would have made possible 
a more exhaustive report, but every effort has been put forth 
to make this one exact. 



CHAPTER II 
THE BOARD OF EDUCATION 

THERE shall be in the City of New York, as consti- 
tuted by this act, a Board of Education which shall 
have the management and control of the public schools, and 
of the public school system of the city, subject to the general 
statutes of the state relating to the public school instruction 
and to the provisions of this act" (1061, the Revised 
Charter). The Board of Education of Nevv York City 
shall consist of 46 members appointed by the Mayor for a 
term of five years. " For the purposes of this chapter the 
Board of Education of the City of New York shall possess 
the powers and privileges of a corporation" (1062). 
" There shall be the following administrative departments 
in said city — Department of Education" (96). "The 
head of the department of education shall be called the 
Board of Education, and shall consist of 46 members, as 
hereafter provided " (108). 

What is the legal status of the board which is thus 
created? Is it a separate corporation, or a department of 
the city government ? Are the public school officers officers 
of the state or officers of the city? Is the public school 
system itself a municipal affair or a general affair? The 
law on these subjects is relatively clear. 

THE LEGAL STATUS OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION 

Article 9 of the Constitution of the State of New York 
directs that " the legislature shall provide for the mainte- 
nance and support of a system of free common schools 
wherein the children of this state may be educated." In 



The Board of Education n 

conformity with this direction of the Constitution the legis- 
lature, by general laws, has created a system of public 
schools. The courts and the legislature itself have repeatedly 
held that this " common school system is an institution of 
the state, and not of any particular locality therein " 
(Hutchinson v. Skinner, 21 Misc. 729), and that the officers 
thereof are not local or town or county officers, but officers 
of such state system. In Dannat v. Mayor (6 Hun, 88), 
the court held that the City of New York was not liable 
for a contract entered into by the Board of Education, and 
declared the status of the board to be as follows : 

" The Board of Education is not and has never been 
other than a distinctive educational branch of govern- 
ment or separate organization having by the statute 
( 1 851)' its own separate funds and empowered to draw 
money in accordance with the provisions of special 
statutes. . . . 

" This view of the subject is based on the proposition 
that the board has a distinct, separate and independent 
organization invested with extraordinary powers and 
duties exclusively conferred upon it, and the officers 
connected with the system of which it forms a part, 
and with which the defendants cannot interfere, and 
over which they have no supervisory power or control 
. . . and upon the further proposition that the depart- 
ment is in reality managed and controlled by a board 
of officers created by statute with specific powers and 
duties to perform a public service not peculiarly local or 
corporate, but as part of a general system, and who are 
independent of the defendants as to their tenure of office 
and the manner of discharging their duties.'' 

Particularly illuminating is the decision (January, 1896) 
of Judge Gaynor in the case of Ridenour v. The Board of 
Education of the City of Brooklyn (15 Misc. 418). for it 
supplies an outline of the development of educational ad- 
ministration in the present City of New York. 



12 Hozv New York City Administers Its Schools 

. . . " He is an employee of the Board of Education. 
It is not a part of the corporation of the City of Brook- 
lyn, but is itself a local school corporation, like every 
board of school trustees throughout the state (General 
Corporation Law, Section 3), and is, like every such 
board, an integral part of the general school system of 
the state. It is a state and not a city agency, doing state 
and not city work and functions. Education is not a city, 
village, county, or town business. It is a matter belong- 
ing to the state government. From its comprehensive 
foundation by Chapter 75 of the laws of 1795 down to 
the recent codification of our school laws (Consolidated 
School Law, Laws of 1894, Chapter 556), our state 
system of education has remained a consistent whole. 
The present Board of Education of the City of Brooklyn 
is as distinctly a part of that whole as is any school 
district in the state. It is the lineal successor to the 
powers and duties formerly performed by the trustees 
of the several school districts of Kings County. The 
City of Brooklyn was incorporated in 1834 (Laws of 
1834, Chapter 92). Its first charter is silent concerning 
public education. It conferred no power in respect to 
it upon any board or officer of the city. It left all the 
school districts of the locality as they had previously ex- 
isted and been governed, viz., by the district trustees 
and the town commissioners. The next year the legisla- 
ture made it the duty of the Common Council to appoint 
the trustees of the several school districts, and also the 
Commissioners, instead of their being elected, as for- 
merly. . . . The legislature did not thereby make them 
city officers. It often happens that city officers are re- 
quired by a statute to appoint individuals to do specified 
state duties, but that does not make such appointees city 
officers, or make the city liable for their acts. ... By 
Chapter 63 of the Laws of 1843 the Common Council 
was required to appoint two or more persons from each 
school district to constitute a Board of Education of the 



The Board of Education 13 

City of Brooklyn, and this was its creation. By the said 
statute the said board was given the control and direction 
of the Common Schools of Brooklyn and all of the 
powers under the general state school laws of trustees of 
school districts (who were thus locally done away with), 
but under and subject to rules and regulations not incon- 
sistent with the said laws which the Common Council 
was required to make. The members of the Common 
Council were ex officio made school commissioners. 
The treasurer of the city was ex officio made custodian 
of the school moneys, but to the Board of Education 
was given the spending of the same. By Chapter 143 
of the Laws of 1850 the whole city was made one school 
district for the purposes of taxation, the building and 
repairing of schools, and the support of the schools; 
but the Board of Education was directed to divide the 
city into districts for the purpose of regulating attend- 
ance. Reference to the duties of School Commissioners 
prescribed by the Revised Statutes will show that this 
transferred to the Board of Education all such duties, 
and thus the members of the Common Council ceased 
to be School Commissioners. This act also empowered 
the Board of Education to make rules for its own gov- 
ernment, and for the government and discipline of the 
schools, thus taking that power from the Common 
Council. 

" The foregoing acts, and several others which I do 
not need to cite, were not amendments to the charter 
of Brooklyn, but separate and distinct school laws. 
They cannot be construed as making the local system 
a part of the city corporation, but manifest a contrary 
purpose. ... In the revised charter of Brooklyn, passed 
in 1873, it is provided as follows : ' There shall be a 
department of public instruction which shall be under 
the control of a Board of Education, and all the pro- 
visions of law relating to the present Board of Educa- 
tion of the City of Brooklyn shall apply thereto, except 



14 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

so much as relates to the appointment of members 
thereof,' and then it makes the change that the mayor 
shall appoint the members with the approval, of the 
Common Council. This is all that act contains on the 
subject of education. It nominally created a depart- 
ment of public instruction, but puts it under the control 
of the Board of Education, which was, and always has 
been, a corporate entity itself, having a treasury, and 
capable of holding property, of contracting, and of suing 
and being sued. ..." 

These positions are reaffirmed in the famous case of 
Gunnison v. the Board of Education of the City of New 
York (176 N. Y. 13). In its decision handed down on 
October 6, 1903, the Court of Appeals held: 

" It is apparent from the general drift of the argu- 
ment that the learned counsel for the defendants is of 
the opinion that the employment of the teachers in the 
public schools, and the general conduct and management 
of the schools, is a city function in the same sense as it is 
in the care of the streets, or the employment of police, 
and the payment of their salaries and compensation; 
but that view of the relations of the city to public edu- 
cation, if entertained, is an obvious mistake. The city 
cannot rent, build, or buy a school house. It cannot em- 
ploy or discharge a teacher, and has no power to contract 
with teachers with respect to their compensation. There 
is no contract or official relation, express or implied, be- 
tween the teachers and the city. All this results from 
the settled policy of the state from an early date to 
divorce the business of public education from all other 
municipal interests or business, and to take charge of it, 
as a peculiar and separate function, through agents of 
its own selection, and immediately subject and respon- 
sive to its own control. . . . 

" The defendant is, by the terms of the new charter, 
given all the powers, and subjected to all the obligations 



The Board of Education 15 

and duties of all previous boards of education (Sec. 
1058). It is expressly required to administer all money 
raised for educational purposes (1060). ... 

" If the state has departed from the settled policy that 
has prevailed since its organization of keeping the work 
of public education, and the control and management of 
its schools, separate and distinct from all other municipal 
interests and business by the selection of its own agents, 
and clothing them with corporate powers to represent 
the schools, such as school districts and boards of edu- 
cation, and has devolved these powers and duties di- 
rectly upon the city, we would naturally expect to find 
such a departure and notable change expressed in lan- 
guage so clear that no doubt would arise as to this 
change of policy. ... If the board cannot be sued for 
teachers' wages and the teachers must resort to a suit 
against the city, then surely the board must have sunk 
into a mere city agency, and it no longer has any use 
for independent corporate powers. Public education 
then becomes a city function, exposed to the taint of 
current municipal politics and to any and every mis- 
management that may prevail in city departments. But 
we still have the very plain provisions of the charter 
that the board is the representative of the entire school 
system, and has the power to administer all school funds, 
and is vested with the right to manage and control all 
school property. ... We have seen that the policy of 
this state for more than half a century has been to 
separate public education from all other municipal func- 
tions, and intrust it to independent corporate agencies 
of its own creation, such as school districts and boards 
of education, with capacity to sue and be sued in all 
matters involved in the exercise of their corporate 
powers^ We have seen that during this long period of 
time this court and all the courts of this state have 
accepted this rule and acted upon it. . . . 

u The other provision of the present charter, which it 



1 6 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

is said is new, and makes a radical change with respect 
to the proper party defendant in such actions as this, is 
to be found in Section 96, where the administrative de- 
partments of the city are enumerated. The Board of 
Education is there called the ' Department of education,' 
and the head of the department is to be called the Board 
of Education, and shall consist of forty-six members 
(Section 108). It is difficult to see how the mere list- 
ing of the Board of Education among the city depart- 
ments makes any change in its corporate powers, duties, 
or liabilities. ... It is still the sole representative of the 
school system, with exclusive powers to control, manage 
and administer all school property and school funds. If 
enumerating the board as a corporate body among the 
departments did not make it any greater than before, it 
certainly could not make it any less. . . . Moreover, 
the provision was not new. The Board of Education was 
made a city department by the Charter of 1873, and 
under the charter of Brooklyn. . . ." 

Again, at the beginning of the opinion the Court held: 

" The City Charter provides that the defendant, the 
Board of Education, shall administer all moneys avail- 
able for educational purposes, and on the facts stated 
in the complaint, and admitted in the demurrer, it is 
clear that the plaintiff cannot maintain any action against 
the city. The mere fact that the public money for the 
support and conduct of the schools is deposited in the 
city treasury does not affect the liability of the Board 
of Education to be sued, nor does it, upon the facts 
stated, create any liability against the city. The city 
has the custody of the money, but the board must ad- 
minister and expend all school funds as the representa- 
tive of the school system, and the financial officer of 
the city cannot pay out any part of these funds except 
upon the order and audit of the board. In most of the 
other counties of the state the county treasurer, or some 



The Board of Education 17 

county or town officer, has the custody of the school 
fund, but it cannot be paid out or disbursed except upon 
the order or audit of the trustees of the proper school 
district, and these districts are declared to be corporate 
bodies, thus giving them the power of independent action 
(Laws of 1894, Chap. 556, Art. VI, sections 42, 43, 44). 
So, in the City of New York, the city of its own motion 
has no power to expend or pay out any part of the 
school funds for the payment of teachers." 

The schools of any locality are a part of the state school 
system, not local schools. The officers who administer and 
supervise them are state, and not local, officers. In the case 
of the People ex rel. v. Bennett (54 Barbour, 480), the court 
held that the members of the Board of Education of Sara- 
toga Springs and the trustees of school districts within that 
village are neither county, city, town or village officers 
within the meaning of Section 2 of Article 10 of the State 
Constitution in existence at that time. 

Governor Hughes, in his message of May 29, 1907, veto- 
ing the equal salary bill, referred to the legal status of the 
Board of Education of New York City as follows : 

" Apart from the power of the mayor to appoint and 
remove, as stated, and the duty of the city to supply 
the funds required, the Board of Education exercises 
its powers independently. It is not subject to control 
by the city authorities. There is no contract or official 
relation between the teachers and the city. The city 
cannot be sued upon the contracts made by the board. 
This results, as the Court of Appeals has said, from ' the 
settled policy of the state, from an early date, to divorce 
the business of public education from all other municipal 
interests or business, and from the creation of the board 
as a corporate body to conduct a system of public edu- 
cation in a designated division of the state, and man- 
age and control the schools therein.' " 



1 8 How Nezv York City Administers Its Schools 

As corroborating evidence that the Board of Education 
is a state, and not a municipal, body it is a matter of com- 
mon knowledge that the charter prepared for New York 
City and introduced in the legislature, commonly known 
as the Foley bill (No. 2596), contained a distinct provision 
(Sec. 480) to make the department of education of that 
city a separate and distinct department of the city govern- 
ment. It would not have been necessary to incorporate this 
provision if the school system were not conceded to be part 
of the school system of the state and not a local system. 



CONTROL OVER STATE SYSTEM OF COMMON SCHOOLS VESTED 
IN THE COMMISSIONERS OF EDUCATION 

The state of New York has provided for the supervision 
and general control of its common school system, first, 
through the Secretary of State, then through the State 
Superintendent of Public Instruction, and now through the 
Commissioner of Education. A similar method of super- 
vision prevails generally throughout the United States. 

" Controlling in a general way the discipline and the 
management of the common schools throughout the 
state will be found a State Superintendent of Public 
Instruction, or an officer under some other title, per- 
forming the duties indicated. Or, to state the propo- 
sition differently, the general supervision of the schools 
is usually vested in a State Superintendent " (Ab- 
bott's Municipal Corporations, vol. 3, Par. 1076, citing 
Wiley v. Alleghany Co. School Com., 51 Md. 401; 
Jones v. Benton, 49 Greene, 40. State v. Albertson, 
54 N. J. Law, J2\ Kirnbough v. Barnett, 93 Tex. 301). 

The Education Law of 1910 (L. 1910, ch. 140) con- 
tains the following provisions as to the supervisory control 
of the Commissioner of Education over the common schools 
of the state: 



The Board of Education 19 

(1) The Commissioner of Education is the chief 
executive officer of the " state system of education." 
" He shall enforce all general and special laws relating 
to the educational system of the state, and execute all 
educational policies determined upon by the board of 
regents " (Education Law, Par. 94, subd. 1). 

The Education Department is under the legislative 
direction of the regents and the executive direction of 
the Commissioner of Education. The Education De- 
partment "is charged with the general management and 
supervision of all public schools, and all of the educa- 
tional work of the state, including the operations of the 
University of the State of New York" (Education 
Law, Par. 20). 

The " educational system " referred to above includes 
the " system of common schools " required under the con- 
stitution. The Commissioner of Education must enforce 
" all general and special laws " relating to such schools. 
This applies to the charters of the several cities, and is a 
further recognition of the doctrine that the administration 
of the schools of a city is distinct and separable from other 
municipal functions. The present New York City Charter, 
Par. 1 06 1, gives to the Board of Education the general 
management and control of the " public schools and the 
public school system of the city," " subject only to the 
general statutes of the state relating to public schools and 
public school instruction." When this section is construed 
with paragraphs 20 and 94, subd. 1, of the Education 
Law, it must be concluded that the Board of Education 
of New York City exercises its power of " general manage- 
ment and control " subject to the supervisory control and 
management of the Commissioner of Education. 

(2) The Commissioner of Education has " general 
supervision over all schools and institutions which are 
subject to the provisions of this act, or of any statute 
relating to education, and shall cause the same to be 



20 Hozv Nezv York City Administers Its Schools 

examined and inspected, and shall advise and guide the 
school officers of all districts and cities of the state in 
relation to their duties and the general management of 
the schools under their control " (Education Law, Par. 
94, subd. 2). 

This is the provision which confers upon the Commis- 
sioner his general supervisory, visitatorial and advisory 
power in respect to school management. It is broad and 
inclusive, and pertains to schools under the general laws 
and those under any other law, meaning, of course, city 
schools under city charters. 

In respect to this provision the Court of Appeals has said, 
in the case of O'Connor v. Hendrick, 184 N. Y. 421 : 
" While it is true that there is no express grant of authority 
to the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (now the 
Commissioner of Education) in the consolidated school law 
to establish regulations as to the management of the com- 
mon schools, the existence of a general power of supervision 
on his part over such schools is clearly implied in many 
parts of the statute." It was thereupon held that reasonable 
regulations of the Commissioner were enforceable. 

The Commissioner of Education is authorized to " annul, 
upon cause shown to his satisfaction, any certificate of 
qualification granted to a teacher by any authority what- 
ever" (Education Law, Par. 94, subd. 7). This power is 
recognized in the New York Charter, Par. 1089. 

Removal of school officers is authorized by the Commis- 
sioner of Education " whenever it shall be proved to his 
satisfaction " that a trustee, member of a Board of Edu- 
cation, or other school officer has been guilty of " any wilful 
violation or neglect of duty under this chapter, or any other 
act pertaining to common schools" (Education Law, 
Par. 95). 

This power pertains to school officers in cities, although 
such officers have powers and duties especially prescribed 
by local city charter. It has been held that a statute giving 



The Board of Education 21 

the State Superintendent general supervision of all depart- 
ments of instruction applies to a union free school district, 
created by special act of the legislature; and where, by 
such statute, the Superintendent is given power to remove 
school officers for neglect of duty he may remove members 
of a Board of Education of such a district, although the 
special act creating the district gives the board entire man- 
agement of all common schools therein (Matter of Light, 
21 Misc. 737, 49 N. Y., Supp. 345 revd. on other grounds 
in 30 App. Div. 50). 

The Commissioner of Education may decide appeals 
brought to him from official acts of boards of education in 
cities or union free school districts, although such boards 
are created by special law. An appeal may be brought from 
" any other official act or decision of any officer, school 
authorities, or meetings concerning any other matter under 
this chapter, or any other act pertaining to common schools " 
(Education Law, Par. 880, subd. 7). 

This provision gives the Commissioner full power to re- 
view the official acts of the Board of Education of the City 
of New York. This power has been exercised in a number 
of cases and has been sustained by the courts (People ex rel. 
Keyser v. Board of Education, 32 Misc. 63) ; and so also 
in respect to acts of boards of education of other cities 
acting under special charters (People ex rel. Walrath v. 
O'Brien, 112 App. Div. 97). 

The powers of the Commissioner of Education are so 
ample that in Hutchinson v. Skinner (21 Misc. 729), in 
which two members of a bi-partisan board of education 
created by the city charter of Watervliet, and which had 
been in a state of deadlock upon all questions relative to 
the employment of teachers, petitioned the State Superin- 
tendent for the removal of the other two members of the 
board; the Superintendent refused to remove, but made 
an order requiring the board to equip the schools and open 
them on a day which he named; the board did not com- 
ply with this order and the State Superintendent made an 



22 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

order appointing temporarily a full corps of teachers and 
employees at a rate of compensation fixed in the order. 
The court held that the State Superintendent had the power 
to make such an order so that he might " give effect to 
his decision" as authorized by the Education Law (881, 
subd. 4). 



CHAPTER III 

THE SITUATION AT PRESENT IN 
NEW YORK 

" ' 1 A HE policy of this state for more than half a century/' 
A which has been " to separate public education from 
all other municipal functions and intrust it to independent 
corporate agencies of its own creation," is carried out neither 
in the letter nor in the spirit at the present time. The Board 
of Education is not " the sole representative of the school 
system with exclusive powers to control, manage, and ad- 
minister all school property and school funds." The 
counter-conception which the fiscal authorities of the city 
seem to hold is that the school system is in all respects a 
subordinate department of the city government. Through 
control of the public purse they have given authority to 
their views. In effect the schools have been almost as 
completely annexed to the City Hall as they would have 
been if the proposed new charter had become the organic 
law of the city. This change in the status of the school 
department has been a gradual one, but it has been so 
thorough as to effect a new method of school administra- 
tion. A system of fiscal administration has been building 
itself up without, we think, due regard for the educational 
and legal requirements of the schools. 

The power of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment 
to regulate the expenditures of the city is undoubtedly very 
great. A tendency to centralize all municipal activities and 
business is, perhaps, inherent in its work. This tendency 
has been felt by the Board of Education for some time, but 
with increasing force from year to year. 

23 



24 Hoiv New York City Administers Its Schools 

Section 1075 of the charter directs that " the Board of 
Education shall provide for the purchase of all books, ap- 
paratus, stationery, and other things necessary and expe- 
dient to enable the schools of the city to be properly and 
successfully conducted. It shall cause to be furnished all 
necessary supplies. ..." But no funds are granted to 
the board to provide for the lighting of school buildings, 
on the theory that the lighting of school buildings pertains 
to the jurisdiction of the Commission of Water Supply, 
Gas, and Electricity. 

Section 1066 declares that the Board of Education " shall 
have power to lease property required for the purpose of 
furnishing school accommodations, and to prepare and exe- 
cute leases therefor,'' and Section 1064 declares that " the 
Board of Education shall administer all moneys appro- 
priated or available for educational purposes in the City 
of New York. . . ." Yet, since 1909, the control of the 
funds for the rental of school premises has been diverted 
from the Board of Education to the Department of Finance : 
and the responsibility for leasing properties for school pur- 
poses has been given to the Commissioners of the Sinking 
Fund, by whom the Board of Education is notified, in 
common with all heads of departments, officers, boards, and 
commissions, " that applications for the renewal of leases 
to the city should be made to the Commissioners of the 
Sinking Fund. . . ." {Journal, Board of Education, 1910; 
408). 

Section 1073 reads : " All plans for new school buildings, 
for additions to school buildings, and for structural changes 
in old buildings shall be passed upon and must be approved 
by the superintendent of school buildings, who shall submit 
such plans to the Board of Education, whose action thereon 
shall be final." But on July 17, 191 1, the Board of Esti- 
mate and Apportionment reported a resolution that all 
boards, departments, bureaus, commissioners, or officers of 
the city or county government authorized by it to incur 
obligations and execute contracts payable out of corporate 



The Situation at Present 25 

stock be, and they are hereby directed, to submit to this 
board for approval plans, specifications, and estimates of 
cost prior to advertising for bids. 

Section 1060 of the charter directs that " all moneys 
raised for educational purposes in the City of New York 
shall be raised in two funds, to be known as the special 
school fund and the general school fund." The general 
fund is for the payment of the salaries of teachers, super- 
intendents, etc. The special school fund includes all moneys 
raised for educational purposes not comprised in the general 
school fund. " The general school fund shall be raised in 
bulk, and for the city at large." " It shall be the duty of 
the Board of Estimate and Apportionment and of the Board 
of Aldermen to indicate in the budget in raising the special 
fund the respective amounts thereof which shall be avail- 
able for use in the several boroughs." Although the charter 
says specifically that the general school fund shall be raised 
in bulk, the records of the Board of Education show that 
the Board of Estimate and Apportionment has for some 
years practiced the habit of recommending the manner in 
which it should be apportioned, and in the budgets for 191 1 
and 1912 it took upon itself the apportioning said general 
fund, conditioning its extra allowance of money in excess 
of the three mill tax upon the acceptance by the Board of 
Education of the apportionment which it made. In ap- 
portioning the special school fund it not only indicated the 
amounts which should be available for use in the several 
boroughs, as the charter directs, but subdivided these 
amounts into some ninety-nine different funds, which it set 
apart for specific uses. Quite apart from legal warrant for 
such procedure, it creates a circumlocution device for school 
administration which tends to paralyze the public business 
and almost to defeat the objects for which the Board of 
Education was created. It tends to reduce the adminis- 
tration of the schools and the energy of the general staff, 
in large part, to the routine work of continually request- 
ing the Board of Estimate and Apportionment to transfer 



26 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

money from one fund to another in order to meet the re- 
adjustments required in the school service. It thus tends 
to prevent the transaction of public business. 

Section 56 of the charter makes it the duty of the Board 
of Aldermen, upon the recommendation of the Board of 
Estimate and Apportionment, to fix the salary of every 
officer or person whose compensation is paid out of the city 
treasury, other than day laborers, and teachers, examiners, 
and members of the supervising staff of the Department 
of Education. The Court of Appeals in Hogan v. Board 
of Education, decided on January 10, 191 1, held: " It seems 
clear that by the changes made in the present provisions 
the legislature intended to remove all possible uncertainty 
on this subject, and, while securing to the Department of 
Education the unquestioned right to fix the compensation 
of certain of its employees, to confer with equal clearness 
upon the Board of Aldermen the general power to fix the 
compensation of those not included in the specified excep- 
tions." This is good law, but it is not good administration. 
This provision of the charter divides and separates func- 
tions which, for the proper discharge of duty, belong to- 
gether. It entrusts an important and necessary function 
of the Board of Education to another agency, and puts 
the responsibility for the proper discharge of this function 
upon the body which is farthest away from the detail of 
operation and least familiar with its routine, making it 
decide what the necessities of the work require. There is 
pressing need for an immediate revision of the charter at 
this point, as the present provision prevents the keeping of 
the schools clean, hinders the necessary work in the school 
offices, and has, through the needless routine which it 
necessitates, cost the city something like a hundred thou- 
sand dollars through mistakes already made in fixing the 
salaries in the general offices of one department, as is 
pointed out in Chapter XII of this report. 

The legal warrant for the other features outlined above, 
of the present method of controlling the appropriations for 



The Situation at Present 27 

educational purposes, is by no means so clear. There is 
an evident conflict between the statutory power of the two 
boards which has resulted in a grievous confusion in the 
functions of school administration. The Board of Estimate 
and Apportionment has the undoubted right to require the 
Board of Education to conform to provisions of the charter 
relative to the submission of estimates and disbursements 
of city funds which do not interfere with or limit the ex- 
clusive control of educational matters conferred by the 
charter upon the Board of Education. This arrangement 
is due to the fact that the Board of Education may not of 
itself raise or hold public money, but is dependent in this 
respect upon the financial machinery of the city. What is 
most urgently needed by the City of New York at the 
present time is a clear definition of the law that controls 
the relations of the fiscal department of the city and the 
Board of Education. Until this is made by the courts, the 
administration of the schools is bound to be in continual 
confusion. When it is made, it will doubtless be necessary 
to appeal to the legislature for aid in perfecting the details 
of a proper system of school administration. That the 
many-headed system made up of the various branches of 
the city government in constant struggle with the Board 
of Education as to what the law is, and what must and 
must not be done, is thoroughly incompetent to administer 
the schools of the leading city of the nation is all too evident. 
A single illustration as to the way the school business is, 
and must be, done at present will suffice. Others might be 
given which abound in even greater routine and postpone 
final action to an even more remote period from its incep- 
tion. This one will serve to show the circumlocution features 
of the system, and at the same time to raise the question 
as to the legal necessity of such a confusion of authority 
and time-consuming routine. The following is the formula 
for the leasing of premises for school purposes which the 
Superintendent of School Buildings must observe : 



2& How New York City Administers Its Schools 



NEW LEASES FOR PREMISES 

Initiative 

The initial information regarding premises to be leased 
for the purposes of the Department of Education is derived 
from many sources : 

A. First. From reports or recommendations made by 
any one of the local school boards (Chap. 466, Sec. 1088). 

Second. From members of the Board of Education. 

Third. From district superintendents or members of the 
supervising staff (principals, etc.). 

Fourth. From local civic associations, boards of trade. 

Fifth. From private citizens or owners of property. 

Sixth. By inspections made by the building bureau of 
the Department of Education. 

B. In the case of additional accommodations for high 
or training schools, from the Committee on High Schools 
and Training Schools (By-laws, Sec. 21, Par. 6). 

C. In the case of space required for the use of the 
Bureau of Supplies for storage purposes, or by any of 
the bureaus for administrative offices, from the bureau 
which is in need. 

NEW LEASES FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PURPOSES 

Preliminary Investigation 

Upon receipt by the Bureau of Buildings of a recom- 
mendation, suggestion, or offer to lease property, a blank 
form is forwarded from that office to the Deputy Superin- 
tendent of School Buildings of the borough in which it may 
be located, and an inspection and report are made. This re- 
port gives the location, number of class rooms obtainable; 
size of same, their capacity and seating accommodation; 
dimensions of the building and material, number and height 
of stories, method of heating; also a statement of what 
alterations are necessary to fit it for school use; their esti- 



The Situation at Present 29 

mated cost, and whether the owner will make same or no; 
the name and address of the owner; the rental asked ; what 
repairs the owner will make during the lease ; whether light, 
heat and janitors services are included in the rental asked; 
details as to condition of heating and sanitary apparatus; 
the assessed valuation, and any pertinent matters not spe- 
cifically listed. This report is made by an inspector of the 
Bureau of Buildings to the Deputy Superintendent, who 
endorses thereon his opinion as to whether the premises are 
suitable for school purposes or no, and whether the rent 
asked is, or is not, reasonable. This report is returned to 
the main office of the Bureau of Buildings. 

Certificate from City Superintendent of Schools 

On the receipt of the report on the premises, if they are 
or can be made suitable for school purposes, the Bureau of 
Buildings requests the City Superintendent to forward to 
it his recommendations as to the necessity for additional 
school accommodations in the neighborhood in question 
(By-laws, Bd. of Ed., Sec. 16, Sec. 3). At times when it is 
evident that the proposed premises will be physically suit- 
able, this request is made coincidentally with the request 
for the inspection heretofore referred to. 

Adverse Report from City Superintendent 

Should the City Superintendent state that the accom- 
modations offered, for any reason, are unnecessary a report 
is presented by the Bureau of Buildings to the Committee 
on Buildings stating that fact, and suggesting that the 
proposition be denied, and that due notice be sent to those 
interested. 

Favorable Report from City Superintendent 

On receipt of a recommendation from the City Superin- 
tendent that the premises be leased the Bureau of Buildings 
then requests the Superintendent of Buildings for the 



30 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

borough concerned, and also the Sanitary Superintendent 
of the Department of Health, and, in some cases, the Fire 
Commissioner, to make an inspection of the premises pro- 
posed to be leased (By-laws, Bd. of Ed., Sec. 16, Sec. 3), 
and, if same are found suitable for school purposes, to issue 
to this department a certificate as to that fact. 

Search of Title 

At the same time a request is made on the Counsel to the 
Corporation that he certify to the Bureau of Buildings in- 
formation regarding the " owner of record " of the property 
in question. 

Certificates 

The inspections of the Bureau of Buildings and the De- 
partment of Health being made, reports from each are 
received, and, if satisfactory, are noted and held with the 
papers in the case. 

Objections 

It often happens that objections are filed on account of 
inadequate exits, leaky roofs and leaders, defective or in- 
adequate plumbing, plastering, or what not, and, on receipt 
of these, they are taken up with the owner of the property 
and an agreement reached as to their correction. This work 
sometimes takes several weeks. 

Reins pec Hon 

A reinspection is requested, made, and another report 
received. 

Negotiations with Owner 

Meantime negotiations have been under way with the 
owner as to the terms, covering rental, length of term, 
partial or complete occupancy, taxes, water rates, light, heat, 
janitor's services, etc., and the checking up of the rental with 
that paid for like accommodations in other localities of the 
borough. 



The Situation at Present 31 

Report to Committee on Buildings 

When all these details have been satisfactorily arranged, 
and the certificates obtained, a report is prepared by the 
Superintendent of Buildings to the Committee on Build- 
ings rehearsing in detail all the various clauses and terms 
as agreed upon, together with all the correspondence and 
papers, and it is suggested that a report be presented to the 
Board of Education recommending that a lease be made 
in accordance therewith. 

Report to Board of Education 

If the terms as submitted are approved by the Committee 
on Buildings, a report and resolution is prepared for adop- 
tion by the Board of Education requesting that the Com- 
missioners of the Sinking Fund authorize the Board of 
Education to make a lease in accordance with the terms as 
agreed upon by the Department of Education, and copies 
of the certificates are attached and forwarded with the 
request. 

Department of Finance 

The matter is then referred to the Comptroller of the 
City of New York, who, through the Bureau of Real Estate 
of his office examines the property and presents a report 
thereon to the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund, setting 
forth his opinion as to whether or not the action proposed 
will be for the best interests of the city. 

Commissioners of the Sinking Fund 

If favorable, the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund 
adopt a resolution authorizing the Board of Education to 
enter into a lease on the terms which may be contained 
in their resolution. It sometimes happens that the length 
of the term, or some other detail, is altered, but that reso- 
lution governs. 



32 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

Notice to Board of Education 

The Secretary of the Sinking Fund Commission then 
transfers to the Secretary of the Board of Education a 
certified copy of the action taken by the commission in 
the matter. 

It does not follow that the investigation by the Comp- 
troller is always favorable to the proposition as prepared 
by the Building Department of the Board of Education, 
and, in that event, a conference is usually had between the 
Bureau of Real Estate of the Department of Finance and 
a representative of the Bureau of School Buildings prelim- 
inary to the preparation of the Comptroller's report. If 
possible, such explanations are made as will remove the 
objections which may be raised. Otherwise, an adverse 
report is made by him, and the request of the Board of 
Education denied. In that event negotiations must be be- 
gun de novo with the owner. 

Preparation of Lease 

Authority having been granted, the Secretary prepares 
the leases for signature and they are then forwarded to the 
office of the Counsel to the Corporation for inspection and 
the endorsement thereon of his approval as to form. This 
done, they are returned to the Secretary of the Board of 
Education, who notifies the lessor to appear at his office 
and execute the document, five copies being prepared. 

Copies Sent 

After execution the originals are retained by the Secre- 
tary of the Board of Education and the owner or lessor, 
and copies sent to the Comptroller, the Auditor of the 
Board of Education, and the Bureau of School Buildings. 



The Situation at Present 33 



NEW LEASES FOR HIGH OR TRAINING SCHOOL PURPOSES 

Except for the earliest stages, the procedure heretofore 
set forth is followed : 

Initiative 

The initial step is taken by the Committee on High 
Schools and Training Schools, and usually takes the form 
of a report to the Board of Education (By-laws, Bd. of Ed., 
Sec. 21, Sec. 2), calling attention to the necessity of addi- 
tional accommodations, and a suggestion that certain prem- 
ises may be available. 

References to Committee on Buildings 

This is referred to the Committee on Buildings, and by 
it to the Bureau of School Buildings, where it takes the 
usual course. 

Certificates 

The resolution of the Committee on High Schools and 
Training Schools then takes the place of the recommenda- 
tion of the City Superintendent of Schools (By-laws, Bd. 
of Ed., Sec. 16, Sec. 2). The physical examinations as to 
suitability are all conducted or initiated by the Bureau of 
School Buildings. 

LEASES OF PROPERTY FOR OFFICES, OR OF SITES ON WHICH 
TEMPORARY BUILDINGS ARE ERECTED 

In these cases it is not necessary to obtain certificates from 
the Bureau of Buildings or the Department of Health; 
otherwise, the procedure is as heretofore outlined. 

RENEWALS OF LEASES 

Policy as to Term 

It is the policy of the Board of Education, as adopted 
by its Committee on Buildings, not to lease premises for 



34 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

school purposes for a term longer than two years, and to 
obtain, wherever possible, a privilege of renewal for either 
one or two years thereafter. This is rendered quite neces- 
sary because of the fact that great shifts of population or 
changes in the character of a neighborhood occur, making 
it absolutely impossible to predict or foresee the length of 
time the premises may be needed ; therefore, the short-term 
rule. 

Date of Expiration 

It is also the rule to make the date of expiration either 
February ist or July ist, for the reason: 

First, that the school terms end at those dates and the 
discontinuance of the lease will be least disturbing then; and 

Second, that the new buildings which are under way are 
usually ready for occupancy at, or near, the beginning of 
the school term. 

Preparation for Renewals 

Owing to the many steps w'hich have to be taken prepara- 
tory to the execution of a lease, or the renewal of an ex- 
istent one, a card index is kept in the office of the Secretary 
of the Board of Education, and in the Bureau of Buildings, 
showing the various dates of expiration of leases, and the 
Committee on Buildings has directed the Secretary of the 
Board of Education to send a communication in writing to 
this bureau six months prior to the date of expiration of 
any lease, giving notice of that fact. At that time the 
recommendation of the City Superintendent of Schools is 
requested, and the same procedure in all respects is followed 
as though the matter were a new lease. 

Office Method 
The matter of the negotiations for premises and all the 
details attendant thereto, have, by direction of the Com- 
mittee on Buildings, been assigned to one of the staff of 
the Superintendent of School Buildings as a portion of his 
duties. 



The Situation at Present 35 

Repairs and Alterations 

In some cases it happens that extensive alterations, both 
structural and in the equipment of the premises sought to 
be leased, have to be made in order to make them acceptable 
to the various municipal authorities and to conform to their 
proposed use. Plans must be prepared, submitted to the 
Building- Bureau, an approval obtained, and a contract let. 
If the changes include electric lighting work, etc., the 
approval of the plans by the Department of Water Supply, 
Gas, and Electricity is a prerequisite, and its certificate must 
be obtained on completion of the work. 

SOME DIFFICULTIES OF DOING BUSINESS IN THIS WAY 

Subject: Leases 

October 31, 1906. 
Hon. Egerton L. Winthrop, Jr., 
President, Board of Education. 

My Dear Sir, — The Board of Education has for 
some years leased for storage purposes the premises 
known as No. 426 East 110th street, Borough of Man- 
hattan, but they have been entirely inadequate for some 
time and, on October 15th, 1906, the Committee on 
Buildings adopted resolutions: 

First, abandoning, at the expiration of the present 
lease in January, 1907, the present storehouse, and 

Second, recommending to the Board of Education 
that a lease be made of two lofts at Nos. 530-534 East 
80th street, Borough of Manhattan, for a term of three 
years, etc., at an annual rental of $3,200.00, the lessors 
being the Dry Dock Realty Company, Incorporated. 
A. Schwerer, Jr., secretary, of the aforesaid address. 

These resolutions were reported to and passed by the 
Board of Education at its meeting held on the 24th 
instant, and, in the natural course of events, were for- 
warded to the Sinking Fund Commission. 



36 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

The lessor has informed me that since the receipt of 
the copy of the resolution passed by the Board of Edu- 
cation he has been interviewed by a representative of the 
Comptroller's office who, he says, informed him in terms 
more forcible than elegant that the utmost rent that 
office would agree to is $3,000.00 per annum, and, if 
that is not satisfactory, he gets nothing. 

The owner assures me that since the negotiations be- 
tween the Board of Education and this company have 
been in progress .they have refused to consider offers 
to rent the premises, last week having had an offer for 
the two floors at $3,500, and he desires to know exactly 
what position he is in. This matter of reduction in the 
rental is corroborated by information which I have 
received from other sources. 

This is not an isolated case, and it has occasioned 
this department an unlimited amount of trouble and 
annoyance. I have, therefore, on behalf of the Com- 
mittee on Buildings, thought it wise to bring this mat- 
ter to your attention with a clear statement of the case, 
and, on its behalf, request that the matter be referred 
to the Committee on By-laws for an opinion as to the 
right and ability of the Board of Education, under the 
decision known as " the Gunnison decision," to direct 
its secretary to execute for and on behalf of the Board 
of Education such leases as it may deem wise to con- 
summate without any reference of such matters to the 
Commissioners of the Sinking Fund for their action. 

It would be of the greatest value if this matter could 
be considered and reported upon before the next meet- 
ing of the board in order that this particular case, which 
I have heretofore cited, may at that time be disposed 
of. I am, sir, 

Very truly yours, 

(Signed) Rich. H. Adams, 
Chairman, Committee on Buildings. 



The Situation at Present 37 

Law Department 

Office of the Corporation Counsel 

New York, March 13, 1907. 
Hon. Egerton L. Winthrop, 

President of the Board of Education. 

Sir, — I am in receipt of your communication dated 
November 28, 1906, wherein you inquire as to whether 
or not the Board of Education has power to execute 
leases for property acquired for educational purposes 
independently of the action of the Commissioners of 
the Sinking Fund. 

I am of the opinion that Section 1066 of the Greater 
New York Charter confers ample powers upon the 
board for this purpose. That section distinctly states 
that the 

" Board shall have power to lease property re- 
quired for the purpose of furnishing school ac- 
commodations, and to prepare and execute leases 
therefor." 

I am aware that former Corporation Counsel Rives 
held that it was a debatable question whether or not 
the Board of Education had the authority to execute 
a lease for the purpose mentioned, and, in support of 
his contention, cited Section 96 of the charter, wherein 
the Board of Education was classified among the ad- 
ministrative departments of the City of New York. 
He claimed that, reading this section in conjunction 
with Section 217, which provides that all applications 
to lease real estate for the purposes of " The City of 
New York " should be considered by the Commissioners 
of the Sinking Fund. He concluded, therefore, that 
it was not entirely clear that Section 1066 gave the 
power about which you inquire. 

Since this opinion was rendered the case of Gunni- 
son vs. The Board of Education, 176 N. Y. 11, was 
decided, and holds that, while the Board of Education 



38 Hozu New York City Administers Its Schools 

is a department of the City of New York, yet, for 
the purpose of managing and directing its own internal 
affairs, it is an entity separate and distinct from the 
City of New York. 

It can be thus readily seen that this case resolves the 
difficulty which perplexed Mr. Rives and it can, there- 
fore, be said that the Board of Education may execute 
leases for educational purposes without the sanction 
or approbation of the Commissioners of the Sinking 
Fund. 

I am also aware that former Corporation Counsel 
Whalen maintained in June, 1898, that leases made by 
your department had to be approved by the above-men- 
tioned commissioners. His opinion is easily understood 
when one bears in mind that it was rendered prior to 
the enactment of that portion of Section 1066, to which 
I have adverted above, giving the Board of Education 
power to prepare and execute leases. 
Respectfully yours, 

(Signed) G. L. Sterling, 
Acting Corporation Counsel. 

March 27, 1907. 

From the Secretary of the Commissioners of the Sinking 
Fund, certified copy of a preamble and resolution adopted 
March 20, 1907, as follows: 

Whereas, The attention of the Commissioners of 
the Sinking Fund has been called to the fact that the 
Corporation Counsel has rendered an opinion to the 
Board of Education, under date of March 13, 1907, 
advising that he is of the opinion Section 1066 of the 
Greater New York Charter confers ample powers upon 
the said board to execute leases for property acquired 
for educational purposes independently of the action of 
the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund; 

Resolved, That the Board of Education be and is 



The Situation at Present 39 

hereby requested to continue, notwithstanding the said 
opinion of the Corporation Counsel, to send their ap- 
plications for leases to this board, as heretofore. 

April 10, 1907. 
To the Board of Education : 

The Committee on By-laws and Legislation, to which 
was referred a preamble and resolution adopted by the 
Commissioners of the Sinking Fund on March 20, 
1907 (see Journal, p. 525), requesting that, notwith- 
standing the opinion of the Corporation Counsel to the 
effect that the Board of Education has full power to 
negotiate and execute leases, applications for leases for 
the purposes of this department be sent to said commis- 
sioners as heretofore, respectfully reports that it has 
carefully considered the same and is of the opinion that 
there is no objection to submitting leases for educa- 
tional purposes to the Sinking Fund Commissioners for 
their approval, provided said commissioners will act 
thereon without undue delay. It is the understanding 
of your committee that the Commissioners of the Sink- 
ing Fund desire to be kept informed regarding all leases 
of property for the purposes of the city, and there is 
no reason why the Board of Education should not cor- 
dially cooperate with them. 

The following resolution is submitted for adoption: 
Resolved, That all leases hereafter authorized by the 
Board of Education be submitted to the Commissioners 
of the Sinking Fund for their approval. 

This resolution was adopted. 



THIS METHOD OF MAKING LEASES AND THE TIME IT TAKES 

The Board of Education of the City of New York has 
always possessed the powers and rights of a corporation, 
as established in the act of 185 1, the consolidation act, 



40 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

and in all later legislation down to the present charter; 
and has always had control of the funds which were raised 
and applicable for the purposes of public instruction in 
the City of New York up to 191 o, when the Board of 
Estimate and Apportionment disallowed the request made 
by the Board of Education that there be included, as here- 
tofore, in the annual budget a certain sum for the pay- 
ment of rents, together with a provision for further leases 
which might become necessary during the coming year. 
At the same time the Board of Estimate and Apportion- 
ment established a new fund from which the expense of 
leases for premises for city purposes was to be defrayed, 
and put the same in the care and control of the Department 
of Finance, which department now administers it. 

It is well to consider the many stages through which a 
proposition to lease premises for school purposes must go, 
and the consequent length of time consumed thereby. The 
procedure seems to be not only of doubtful legal warrant, 
but, as it results in delays, duplication of work, and serious 
detriment to the business of the Board of Education, it 
certainly is not based on sound principles of administration. 
Indeed, this method of administering the schools by the 
diffusion of authority over them to many boards and city 
departments can hardly be improved upon as a means for 
defeating the ends for which a school system exists. There 
are so many heads to the business that a great many people 
are sure to be kept busy by it; and so many officers who 
must be consulted that it is certain that responsibility for 
mistakes can never possibly be fastened upon the man who 
made them. Moreover, if there is energy or originality 
in any branch of the service, a desire for improvement, or 
a knowledge of how to better the work by reorganizing it 
in a particular department, it is sure to be crushed out by 
the hopelessness which comes from thinking of the number 
of steps which must be taken, and the number of lukewarm 
and indifferent individuals who must be roused to life be- 
fore anything can be done. This is what is called a bu- 



The Situation at Present 41 

reaucracy; and its method of administration is bureaucratic, 
or one which, having lapsed into something of less than 
human vitality and concern, answers all questions and makes 
all decisions by referring them to somebody else; and he 
refers them to another; such a bureaucracy concerns itself 
solely with winding and unwinding the tape which prevents 
it from taking action and confines it to a perpetual re- 
ferring of matters which affect its functions. The more 
times a matter has to be referred from one agency to an- 
other the greater is the inevitableness of mistake ; and when 
so many laws, ordinances, by-laws, and regulations govern 
the performance of any work, the constant change in their 
interpretation or application, the issuance of new regulations 
and interpretations, and the wiping out of old ones, and 
the repeated and re-repeated duplication of inspection and 
approval of the same items, produce a confusion and a 
weariness in administration which deadens it. There is 
an abundance of these conditions in the administration of 
the schools of New York City, as this report shows. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE EFFECT OF THE METHOD UPON 
EDUCATION 

IT TAKES THE CONTROL OF THE SCHOOLS AWAY FROM 
THE BOARD OF EDUCATION 

TAKING away the control or administration of educa- 
tional affairs from the Board of Education has, in 
effect, made various other boards and officials regard them- 
selves as commissioned to conduct the educational affairs 
of the city. The Board of Aldermen by official action (see 
the minutes of the Board of Education for 1910 and 1911) 
has frequently taken upon itself the duty of requesting or 
recommending to the Board of Education what action it 
should take in matters which are purely educational in 
their character, and the decision of which is expressly with 
the Board of Education only. Such official action of the 
Aldermen has concerned the locating of schools, the renting 
of buildings, the establishing of high schools, the appoint- 
ment of teachers, the fixing of the course of study, and the 
printing of school books in union shops, — matters all of 
them which, by no possible construction of law, is it the duty 
of the Board of Aldermen to decide. 

It is well known that the Board of Estimate and Appor- 
tionment, by controlling the appropriations of the Board of 
Education and making them in specific funds set apart for 
specific purposes, in effect administers the school affairs of 
the city, deciding and determining what subjects shall be 
taught, what supplies shall be furnished, what enlargements 
and improvements shall be made, and, if it wishes, to stop 
progress and effectual education, rendering the Board of 

42 



The Effect of the Method upon Education 43 

Education a mere rubber stamp in its scheme of school ad- 
ministration. Some of its members feel called upon to sug- 
gest the kind of educational records which shall be kept 
and to interfere with the educational economy of the system. 
One illustration is significant: 

Law Department 
Office of the Corporation Counsel 

New York, February 7, 191 1. 

Hon. Egerton L. Winthrop, Jr., 

Normal College, New York City. 

Dear Sir, — I received your letter, dated February 1, 
191 1, in which you requested my opinion regarding two 
questions to which I shall presently advert. 

It appears that on April 27, 1910, the Board of Trus- 
tees of the Normal College adopted a resolution to take 
effect May 1, 19 10, fixing the minimum salaries of the 
women professors at $3,000, with annual increments 
of $200 until the maximum of $4,000 shall have been 
reached and fixing the minimum salaries of the men 
professors at $4,750 a year; with annual increments 
of $250 until the maximum of $6,000 shall have been 
reached. The resolution also provided that no increase 
should be paid unless it was approved by the Executive 
Committee, which was given the further power to make 
allowance for prior experience. 

Acting under that resolution the Executive Commit- 
tee met on May 10, 19 10, and adopted a schedule of 
salaries to go into effect on May 15, 19 10. That 
schedule established the compensation of ten professors 
of either sex, which, in no instance, exceeded the max- 
ima above mentioned, and which was apparently based 
upon the prior experience of each individual specified 
in the schedule. The Board of Estimate and Appor- 
tionment, in making up the budget for the year 191 1, 
included a schedule of the teaching force, and the sala- 



44 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

ries of the ten professors above mentioned were placed 
at amounts which were paid to them prior to May 15, 
191 o, the date on which the schedule adopted by the 
Executive Committee became operative. The sum ap- 
propriated for the Normal College is sufficient to pay 
the salaries as fixed by the Board of Trustees, and you 
ask me to give you my opinion concerning two ques- 
tions, as follows: 

First: Has the Board of Trustees the power to fix 
the salaries of the teaching staff? 

Second: Is the Board of Trustees bound, as long as 
it has sufficient funds, to pay the professors, instructors, 
tutors, and teachers the salaries which have been fixed 
by its by-laws? 

I shall answer your questions separately and in the 
order in which they were asked. 

I think that the Board of Trustees has the power to 
fix the salaries of the members of the teaching corps of 
the Normal College. According to Section 56 of the 
Revised Charter, the Board of Aldermen has the power 
to fix the compensation of all public employees, except 
day laborers, teachers, examiners, and members of the 
supervising staff in the Department of Education. The 
Normal College is, of course, a corporation separate 
from the Board of Education, but the statutory provi- 
sions regulating both bodies are found in the Educa- 
tional Chapter of the Revised Charter, showing that 
they are a part of the Department of Education, and, 
hence, that they have the power to fix the salaries of 
their teaching forces. Furthermore, Section 1091 ex- 
plicitly gives the Board of Education the power to fiyi 
the salaries of its teachers, and Section 1145, defining 
the powers of the Board of Trustees of the Normal 
College, says: 

" The moneys apportioned to the Board of Education 
of said City of New York by the Board of Estimate 



The Effect of the Method upon Education 45 

and Apportionment and Board of Aldermen for the 
payment of the salaries of the professors and officers 
of said college . . . shall be expended for said Normal 
College of the City of New York with the same right, 
power, and authority as if the said college were under 
the control of the Board of Education of the City of 
New York." 

These provisions seem to give the Board of Trustees 
the same power to fix the salaries of the members of its 
teaching staff as the Board of Education, and concededly 
that power of fixation has been given to the latter body. 

Respecting the second question contained in your 
letter, I would advise you that, in my opinion, profes- 
sors, instructors, tutors, and others of the Normal Col- 
lege are entitled to be paid at the rates specified by the 
Board of Trustees. As I have above pointed out, the 
Board of Trustees has the power to fix their salaries, 
and, as long as they remain fixed by the by-laws at a 
given amount, they must be paid, especially since funds 
sufficient to pay them are available. 
Yours truly, 

(Signed) G. L. Sterling, 
Acting Corporation Counsel. 

Ordered to be printed in the minutes and filed. 

From the Secretary of the Board of Estimate and Ap- 
portionment, transmitting certified copies of resolutions 
adopted on February 9, 191 1, as follows: 

(a) Resolved, That in view of the opinion of the 
Corporation Counsel to the Chairman of the Board of 
Trustees of the Normal College, under date of February 
7, 191 1, the salary schedules of the teaching force of 
the Normal College and the College of the City of New 
York, as fixed by the budget for 191 1, be held in abey- 
ance for the months of January, February, and March, 



46 Hozv New York City Administers Its Schools 

and for each of those months the Comptroller shall pay 
not more than one-twelfth for the Normal College and 
not more than one-tenth for the College of the City 
of New York, of the total amount allowed for the sala- 
ries of the teaching force of these institutions in the 
budget for the present year. 

(b) Resolved, That the representatives of the Nor- 
mal College and the College of the City of New York 
be requested to confer with the representatives of the 
Comptroller, and to agree, if possible, on a schedule 
of salaries for the teaching force in these two insti- 
tutions which shall be acceptable to the colleges and 
to the Comptroller, for submission to this board in time 
for use in the preparation and audit of the payrolls in 
question for the month of April. 

Ordered to be printed in the minutes and filed. 



THE EFFECT UPON THE SCHOOLS OF THE PRESENT METHOD 
OF APPROPRIATING MONEY 

The method of appropriating money for purposes of 
public education is a subject of grave concern to all citizens 
who are interested in the welfare of the young. The method 
of making appropriations which is now employed, that of 
creating a great number of funds for specific purposes, 
would not, we think, be employed were the fiscal authorities 
of the city familiar with the routine of school requirements 
and the changing nature of school conditions. This arrange- 
ment puts planning and accounting first, and assumes that 
the Board of Education can prepare and submit an estimate 
on or before the 15th day of September each year, which 
must, therefore, be based upon conditions as they existed 
up to the end of the previous school year, which will con- 
tain an anticipation of its needs from six to eighteen months 
beyond the time of its preparation. This estimate must be 
so exact that the Board of Education can wisely be com- 



The Effect of the Method upon Education 47 

pelled to conduct the school business strictly in accordance 
with this statement of anticipated needs as it stands after 
it has been cut and reduced in such particulars as the Board 
of Estimate and Apportionment and the Board of Aldermen 
may select for total or partial elimination. The responsible 
managers of a business undertaking can plan the conduct 
of their business during the coming year with a reasonable 
certainty that they need not set apart more than so much 
for operation, maintenance, or construction; but even with 
them foresight is not equal to aftersight, and emergencies 
like fire, flood, and strike may require them to reconstruct 
the budget that they have made for themselves in the 
quickest possible time to handle the situations which con- 
front them. Again, no one would think of requiring a 
general in the field to conduct his campaign according to a 
budgetary arrangement based upon prophecy which limited 
him to just so much for each detail of his army's expense. 
Now, of these two kinds of undertaking, the work of a 
school system is more like that of the general conducting a 
campaign than like a business the needs of which are rela- 
tively determinable in detail a year in advance. The school 
department must meet conditions not of its own making; 
growth of population, change of population, variation in 
school attendance because of hard times or good times, 
unforeseen liabilities created by new laws, ordinances, or 
regulations enacted by other public bodies, and other emer- 
gencies due to a variety of causes. 

A school system operating over so large an area and 
attempting to shape itself daily to meet the educational needs 
of so vast a population should control its own internal 
economy with at least the freedom that makes for good 
educational service. With a special school fund subdivided 
into ninety-nine distinct allowances for definite purposes, 
each of which it must employ for the preestablished pur- 
pose and for no other, permission to supplement money 
from a fund where it is not so badly needed to one that 
needs it more being difficult to obtain and frequently non- 



48 How Nezv York City Administers Its Schools 

obtainable, the school system can hardly do its work. When 
it is remembered that there were changes within the system 
to the number of 1,624 classes in the year 19 10, and to the 
number of 2,513 classes in the year 191 1, the need for con- 
siderable flexibility in adjustment will be apparent. The 
school administration must meet emergencies every day. 
Its financial program must not be arranged in detail for it 
unless it is to be made unresponsive to the growth of un- 
predictable needs on the part of the public. To take away 
from it the possibility of modified plans, the function of 
initiating improved ways and means, and of expanding and 
bettering its service, is to cripple it without reason. It must 
have plans, and it must make estimates, but for budgetary 
purposes they should be general plans not minutely detailed 
and exact ones, and its appropriations should be made to it 
in undivided funds, with which it should be free to do the 
best it can to meet the unpredictable necessities of its work. 
As an instance of the difficulty which the Board of Edu- 
cation meets in anticipating its needs in advance, many 
illustrations of which might be furnished, the following 
is typical. Pursuant to the action of the Board of Edu- 
cation taken on March 29, 191 1, a request was made for 
funds to erect a building of twelve class rooms at 207th 
St., Perry and Hull avenues, there being at P. S. 8, Man- 
hattan, 1,159 in average attendance and 694 on part time. 
The section grew with startling vigor, new apartment build- 
ings were erected, and a number of two-family houses were 
built. It became necessary on November 8, 191 1, for the 
Committee on Buildings to revise its plans completely, and, 
for the relief of this section, to recommend the construction 
of a new building with twenty-six class rooms and an as- 
sembly room, instead of the twelve-room building previ- 
ously recommended. Such necessities for changes in plan 
are repeatedly occurring. It is impossible for human fore- 
sight accurately . to anticipate them. 



The Effect of the Method upon Education 49 



INSUFFICIENT APPROPRIATIONS 

There is abundant evidence too scattered through its jour- 
nals of a serious crippling of the activities of the Board of 
Education because of insufficient appropriations for school 
purposes. A few illustrations taken at random from the 
many which might be quoted from the journals, and from 
the vastly greater number of needs which never got a place 
in the records, are as follows : 

On February 7th, 1910, the Board of Education directed 
its auditor to prepare and audit vouchers on account of the 
compensation of janitors for the year 19 10 based upon the 
usual schedule rates, but from allowances of $5,000 and over 
to deduct 10 per cent; of $4,000 to $5,000, 8 per cent; of 
$3,000 to $4,000, 6 per cent; of $2,000 to $3,000, 4 per 
cent; of $1,000 to $2,000, 2 per cent. Substantially the 
same deduction was again ordered on January 4th for 191 1, 
with the exception that nothing was taken from grades of 
compensation less than $2,000 in amount, though subse- 
quently the Board of Estimate and Apportionment asked 
that no deduction be made and promised relief. 

March 3. — The principal of the Harlem Evening High 
School for Women requested that one of the elevators of 
the school be operated. Request denied for lack of funds. 

March 17. — The Committee on Vocational Schools and 
Industrial Training ordered that the attention of the Care 
of Schools Committee be called to a communication from 
Associate City Superintendent Straubenmuller relative to 
the need of a night watchman at the Manhattan Trade 
School for Girls. On motion it was ordered that the com- 
mittee be informed that this committee has no funds with 
which to pay for the services of a watchman at this time. 

April 12, 191 1. — The Superintendent of Buildings recom- 
mended the advisability of providing metal cans for waste 
paper in school buildings. The Building Committee recom- 
mended this improvement against danger from fire to the 



50 Hozv New York City Administers Its Schools 

Supply Committee. It replied that it had no funds at its 
disposal for the purchase of metal cans. 

A letter from Associate Superintendent Shallow, under 
date of May 6, 191 1 : 

I beg to report as follows : The Board of Education 
asked for the sum of $122,187.50 for the payment of 
attendance officers' salaries during the year 191 1. This 
was the amount necessary to pay the officers in the em- 
ploy of the Board of Education at the present time, the 
salaries to which they are entitled under a salary sched- 
ule adopted by the Board of Education on May 8, 1907. 
The amount designated by the Board of Estimate and 
Apportionment for this purpose is $4,697.66 less than 
the amount asked for. It appears that the Board of 
Estimate and Apportionment has cut off the amount 
estimated for so-called automatic increments of salary 
under the attendance officers' schedule referred to. The 
attendance officers have a right to expect that the 
schedule salaries will be paid to them, as this arrange- 
ment is in the nature of a contract between the Board 
of Education and the officers. The increase of an offi- 
cer's salary depends upon approval of services by the 
Board of Superintendents. 

June 2. — A request that caretakers of athletic fields be 
paid for their Sunday afternoon services. Ordered that the 
Committee on Athletics be informed that nothing can be 
done in this matter owing to the shortage in the appropria- 
tion entitled " Compensation of Janitors," account of 191 1. 

June 9. — New work shops are ready to be opened in 
Public School 1, Brooklyn, and a new kindergarten in Public 
School 33, Brooklyn. The funds on hand will not permit 
the furnishing of supplies for these work shops and this 
kindergarten. 

June 9. — Matter of compensation of Patrick Dowd, jani- 
tor of Public School 158, Manhattan, for caring for the 



The Effect of the Method upon Education 51 

assembly room and gymnasium in said school building when 
used by the evening recreation center. Ordered to be placed 
on file owing to the present shortage in the appropriation 
entitled " Compensation of Janitors, account of 191 1." 

June 22. — Principal of Public School 169, Manhattan, 
asks for an additional allowance for his school. The Com- 
mittee replies it has no available funds, saying that: 

" Principals have been notified to spend their money 
for essential supplies only. Analyzing your account we 
find you have spent considerable money for sewing, 
work shop, and drawing supplies. These, in the opinion 
of the committee, should be furnished only after the 
essentials have been purchased for the pupils, as they 
feel that the parents of the children would not find 
fault if the children did not have a piece of lumber, 
or a piece of gingham, but they would do so if the 
children did not have books, pens, ink, paper, etc." 

June 26. — Public School 6, Manhattan. Principal re- 
quests that the 1 A class room be rearranged to comply with 
the suggestions on children's welfare of the Women Prin- 
cipals' Association. Deputy Superintendent reported cost, 
according to plan (1), about $800; according to plan (2), 
$575. No funds are available. 

July 20. — The Committee on Vocational Schools asks 
if there is money for running supplies for the New York 
Preparatory Trade School if it should take it over in Sep- 
tember, 191 1. The Committee on Supplies replies that " the 
amount of money available for supplies for the present year 
is totally inadequate for the needs and requirements of the 
elementary and high schools, and their activities, and the 
committee regrets that, because of this condition, it is un- 
able to appropriate the money for the purpose requested." 

Sept. 13. — Requisition, Public School 58, Queens, for 
work shop supplies. Denied, for no money is available. 
" It has been found necessary to request an issue of $100,000 



52 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

in Special Revenue Bonds for furnishing supplies for the 
remainder of the year. This request was placed on file by 
the Board of Aldermen at its meeting on July 25, 191 1, 
for the reason that it can remain unacted upon until 
the investigation of this department now under way is 
completed." 

Sept. 13. — Requisitions Nos. 3, 4, and 5 from the City 
Superintendent of Schools for stationery costing in the 
aggregate $230.85. The City Superintendent is asked to 
reduce this amount. He is also advised that, as most of these 
supplies are for use by the Board of Examiners, that the 
secretary is instructed to call his attention to the fact that 
the municipal Civil Service compels all applicants for ex- 
aminations for positions to furnish the necessary stationery, 
etc., required for said examinations and to ascertain if it is 
not possible for the Board of Examiners to issue similar 
instructions and thus eliminate a considerable portion of the 
cost now entailed by examination. 

Sept. 13. — The Committee on Supplies asked for suffi- 
cient funds for all purposes for the year 191 1. The Board 
of Estimate and Apportionment saw fit to cut out $139,- 
467.57, thereby leaving us short of funds for necessary 
supplies. The average amount of supplies furnished for all 
activities for the past four years represents $1,189,877.94. 
The amount available for the present year represents a stock 
of $138,917.56 and an appropriation of $973,000, making 
a total of $1,111,917.56. This is much less than the require- 
ments for any year during the past four years. The com- 
mittee regrets that it cannot accept any more requisitions 
for supplies for the high schools for the balance of this year 
chargeable to the Supply Fund. 

Oct. 5. — Communication from Mr. Frank H. Mann, 
Secretary of the Committee on the Prevention of Tuber- 
culosis of the Chanty Organization Society of the City of 
New York, dated October 2, 191 1, recommending that a 
scale be furnished for the open-air class in Public School 89, 
Manhattan. It was decided to advise Mr. Mann as follows : 



The Effect of the Method upon Education 53 

" The Superintendent of School Supplies, in the first 
instance, would have furnished the scale were it not for 
the limited amount of money at the command of the 
committee. While the amount involved is small, the 
fact remains that the committee has been obliged to 
refuse the elementary schools the supplies that are con- 
sidered by them as essentials. The committee is trying, 
so far as possible, to supply the schools with books, ink, 
paper, pens, and pencils. The Board of Education has 
asked for extra funds for the year 191 1, which request 
has been approved by the Board of Aldermen. As soon 
as we are advised that this money is available the scale 
will be purchased and delivered." 

Oct. 9. — Associate Superintendent Stevens made the 
following report: 

" There are probably 10,000 textbooks in use by 
high school pupils in this city that are so filthy that if 
the attention of the Department of Health were called 
to them I am confident they would require their de- 
struction. I make this statement without any hesitancy 
at all. There are 10,000 boys and girls paying for their 
pens, pencils, and paper in the high schools to-day. I 
know of classes that have had absolutely no material 
for domestic science, sewing, cooking, or shop work for 
months." 

Dec. 22. — The chairman of the Supplies Committee 
called attention to the fact that on and after January 1, 191 2, 
the services of a waitress at the New York Parental School 
will be discontinued for the reason that the Board of Esti- 
mate and Apportionment failed to provide for this position 
in the budget for 1912; stated that it would be necessary 
to employ some person to look after the rooms and offices 
of the principal of said school and recommended that a 
resolution be presented to the Board of Education to the 



54 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

effect that Miss be allowed board and lodging at 

said school in consideration of services to be rendered 
by her, as above stated, and that she receive no other 
compensation. 

Jan. 5, 1912. — From City Superintendent: 

" It is highly desirable that the public school build- 
ings should be made places of amusement for all the 
people, and thus drive out, as far as may be, evil 
resorts. It is quite evident, on the other hand, that we 
are not going to receive money enough through public 
taxation for this purpose. . . . If we could collect two 
or three cents from each applicant for admission we 
should have a considerable revenue, certainly enough to 
defray expenses." 

The committee asked for $139,467.57 in the budget for 
191 1 to provide supplies for increased attendance during 
the year 191 1, and for the additional work shops, kitchens, 
etc., which it was proposed to establish during the year 191 1. 
No increase over amount of appropriation for 191 o was 
allowed. 

The Committee on Supplies has repeated its request for 
extra moneys in order to carry on its various activities for 
the balance of the year, but no money will be available for 
any increase, whether caused by change in course of study 
or other causes. 

Requisitions Nos. 76, yj, and E66, from the Inspector of 
Classes for the Blind, for supplies for new classes of blind 
children. The committee instructed the secretary to inform 
the Inspector of Classes for the Blind that, owing to lack of 
funds, it will be impossible to furnish the supplies called for 
in her requisition at the present time. 

Public School 52. Local board asks for additional black- 
boards in rooms 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, and 14. " No funds." 
Window boards for thirty windows. " No funds." 



The Effect of the Method upon Education 55 

Public School 74. Thermostats to control the radiators 
in the class rooms. There are no funds for installing ther- 
mostat control. 

Public School 75. Picture molding in class rooms. No 
funds are available. 

Bushwick High School. Principal asks for furniture for 
his office at Public School 162. Denied because no funds 
are available. 

Public School 8, Manhattan. Local school board calls 
attention to lack of suitable dressing rooms for teach- 
ers in the school. No funds are available to perform all 
the work requested. Some additional lockers have been 
supplied. 

Requisition from Public School 143, Brooklyn, for pic- 
tures ($12.50). Denied because of lack of funds. 

Requisition, Public School 84, Brooklyn, for one picture 
($25.35). Denied because of lack of funds. 

Requisition, Public School 158, Brooklyn, for pictures 
($8.00). Denied because of lack of funds. 

The amount available for supplies this year (1912) is 
about $70,000 less than the actual deliveries for the past 
four years, and $50,000 less than the deliveries for 1910. 
The committee cannot, therefore, allow $81.61 for elemen- 
tary science supplies for Public School 23, Brooklyn. 

Public School 6B. The principal asks for various articles 
of gymnasium equipment which will cost $200 and for 
which no provision has been made. 

Public School J2. The formation of a kindergarten room 
is requested, the cost of the necessary work being about 
$670. No funds for the same being available. 

All the above requests were ordered noted. 

Public Schools 26, 35, 70. Local school board asks that 
pianos be furnished for the kindergartens. There are no 
funds. 

Public School 166. Superintendents recommend equip- 
ment of a science room. Disapproved because there are no 
funds. 



56 How New York City Administers Its ScJiools 

Public School 17, Brooklyn. Local school board asks for 
a new piano. Notified that Board of Estimate and Appor- 
tionment refused to grant the request of the Board of 
Education for funds for the purchase of pianos for the old 
school buildings. 

Public School 36, Brooklyn. The same as preceding. 

Manual Training High School Annex, Brooklyn. Fur- 
nish eight cases. Report : Those cases will cost about $250 ; 
there are no funds available for the purpose. One 36-inch 
Oliver band saw and one bench grinder. Report: These 
articles will cost about $450; no funds are available. 

Note : The requests denied by the supplies committee alone, during three 
years, were as follows, though according to its plan of furnishing supplies it 
should have filled all requisitions made by principals and approved by the dis- 
trict superintendent had it been able to do so: 

Amount 

1909 Up to October 1st number of requests 80 $23,856 

1910 " " " " " " " 95 $25,320 

1911 " " " " " " " 198 $69,984 

These include textbooks in wretched condition in a number of schools and 
requests for kindergarten, shop, and cooking supplies, supplies imperatively 
needed for new classes, new books required because of contagious diseases, etc., 
etc. The list tells a tale of sorry educational conditions. 



CHAPTER V 

THE RELATION OF SCHOOL APPROPRIATION 

TO ASSESSED VALUATION OF SCHOOL 

GROWTH SINCE 1899 

THE following tables, prepared by the Auditor of the 
Board of Education to accompany and illustrate the 
need of a revision of the method of financing the pub- 
lic schools, proposed by him in 1905, and brought up to date 
by him at my request, make clear the inadequacy of the 
present method of funding the schools. 

The percentage of increase or decrease of one year over 
another is not shown in statement M, page 72, for the reason 
that, until July, 19 10, Corporate Stock for new buildings and 
sites was not authorized in any given month of a year; for 
example, items shown as authorized in a given fiscal year 
were, in some instances, authorized early in the fiscal year, 
and, in other instances, not until late in the year, even as late 
as the last day. Therefore, a percentage comparison of one 
year with another would be meaningless. Beginning with 
July, 19 10, an attempt has been made to have a Corporate 
Stock Budget for a year running from July to July. This 
has been done to the extent of tentatively setting aside or 
dividing up among departments, as at July 1, such amounts 
in round figures as the Board of Estimate and Apportion- 
ment decides upon. Such action does not, per se, make the 
funds available. It is still necessary for the Board of Edu- 
cation to obtain consent and approval to undertake any 
specific project, so that the net effect of the Corporate Stock 
Budget, so far as the Board of Education is concerned, is 
to restrict its hopes to a certain round sum, which, in the 
end, may or may not be rendered available, depending upon 
the final willingness of the financial authorities to carry out 
the plans of the Board of Education. 

57 



58 How Nezv York City Administers Its Schools 



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School Appropriations and Assessed Valuations 59 



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6o Hozv New York City Administers Its Schools 



STATEMENT C 

The General School Fund Budget Requests of the Board of Educa- 
tion, Showing Also the Percentage of Increase of Each Year Over 
the Preceding Year 



Fiscal Year 


Budget Request 
Board of Education 


Increase Over 
Preceding Year 


Per Cent of 
Increase Over 
Preceding Year 


1899 
1900 


$12,112,836.77 
13,747,656.56 






$1,634,819.79 


1349 


1901 


14,616,488.77 


868,832.21 


6.31 


1902 


15,664,534.89 


1,048,046.12 


7.17 


1903 


15,899,618.48 


235,083.59 


1.50 


1904 


17,239,974.55 


1,340,356.07 


8.43 


1905 


18,728,487.47 


1,488,512.92 


8.63 


1906 


19,403,966.47 


675,479.oo 


3.60 


1907 


20,864,976.72 


1,461,010.25 


7.52 


1908 


21,962,003.68 


1,097,026.96 


5.25 


1909 


23,261,876.70 


1,299,873.02 


5-9i 


1910 


24,624,914.88 


1,363,038.18 


5.85 


1911 


25,525,9SS.8o 


901,040.92 


3-65 


1912 


29,954,949.23 


4,428,993.43 


17.35 



School Appropriations and Assessed Valuations 61 



STATEMENT D 

The General School Fund Appropriations by the Board of Estimate 

and Apportionment and the Board of Aldermen, Showing Also the 
Percentage of Increase of Each Year Over the Preceding Year 





General School Fund 








Appropriations by 


Increase Over 
Preceding Year 


Per Cent of 


Fiscal Year 


Board of Estimate and 


Increase Over 




Apportionment and 


Preceding Year 




Board of Aldermen 






1899 
1900 


$11,005,286.65 
13,152,400.87 






$2,147,114.22 


19-51 


1901 


14,616,488.77 


1,464,087.90 


n. 13 


1902 


15,151,883.49 


535,394-72 


3.66 


1903 


15,651,883.49 


500,000.00 


3-29 


1904 


16,657,227.21 


1,005,343.72 


6.42 


1905 


17,783,868.74 


1,126,641.53 


6.76 


1906 


18,739,422.97 


955,554.23 


5-37 


1907 


19,845,870.58 


1,106,447.61 


5-90 


1908 


21,038,075.22 


1,192,204.64 


6.00 


1909 


22,094,821.43 


1,056,746.21 


5.02 


1910 


23,130,014.40 


1,035,192.97 


4.68 


1911 


23,990,655.92 


860,641.52 


3.72 


1912 


28,421,601.04 


4,43o,945-i2 


18.47 



62 How Nezv York City Administers Its Schools 



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School Appropriations and Assessed Valuations 63 



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64 How New York City Administers Its Schools 



STATEMENT G 

Average Daily Attendance in Day Elementary Schools, Including 
Kindergartens and Practice Departments of Training Schools 
for Teachers, Showing Also the Percentage of Increase of Each 
School Year Over the Preceding School Year 



School Year 


Average Daily 
Attendance 


Increase Over 
Preceding Year 


Per Cent of 
Increase Over 
Preceding Year 


i 898-1 899 


350,225 






1899-1900 


367,402 


i7,i77 


4.90 


1900-1901 


385,489 


18,087 


4.92 


1901-1902 


406,007 


20,518 


5-32 


1902-1903 


424,232 


18,225 


4.48 


1 903-1 904 


448,950 


24,718 


5.82 


1904-1905 


468,109 


i9,i59 


4.26 


1905-1906 


485,812 


17,703 


3.78 


1906-1907 


5oi,74i 


15,929 


3-27 


1907-1908 


520,960 


19,219 


3.83 


1 908-1 909 


545,2i8 


24,258 


4.65 


1909-1910 


554,178 


8,960 


1.64 


1910-1911 


568,391 


14,213 


2.56 



School Appropriations and Assessed Valuations 65 



STATEMENT H 

Average Daily Attendance in Day High Schools, Showing Also the 
Percentage of Increase of Each School Year Over the Preceding 
School Year 



School Year 


Average Daily- 
Attendance 


Increase Over 
Preceding Year 


Per Cent of 
Increase Over 
Preceding Year 


1898-1899 


8,672 






1 899-1900 


10,809 


2,i37 


24.64 


1900-1901 


12,439 


1,630 


15.08 


1901-1902 


13,889 


i,45o 


n.65 


1902-1903 


15,121 


1,232 


8.87 


1903-1904 


16,865 


i,744 


n-53 


1904-1905 


18,015 


i,iSO 


6.81 


1905-1906 


18,908 


893 


4-95 


1906-1907 


19,880 


972 


5-14 


1907-1908 


22,465 


2,585 


13.00 


1908-1909 


27,488 


5,023 


22.36 


1909-1910 


30,252 


2,764 


10.05 


1910-1911 


32,492 


2,240 


7.40 



66 Hozv Nezv York City Administers Its Schools 



STATEMENT I 

Average Daily Attendance in Training Schools for Teachers — 
Theory Department Only — Showing Also the Percentage of 
Increase of Each School Year Over the Preceding School Year 



School Year 


Average Daily 
Attendance 


Increase Over 
Preceding Year 


Per Cent of 
Increase Over 
Preceding Year 


i 898-1 899 
1899-1900 
1900-1901 
1901-1902 
1902-1903 
1903-1904 
1 904-1 905 
1905-1906 
1906-1907 
1907-1908 
1 908-1 909 
1909-1910 
1910-1911 


1 

1 
1 

S84 
575 
756 
881 
1,107 

1,463 
1,673 
i,958 
2,i34 
2,051 


Less 9 
181 
125 
226 
356 
210 
285 
176 

Less 83 










Less 1.54 
31-47 
16.53 
25.65 
32.15 
14-35 
17.04 
8.98 

Less .38 



Figures not available at this time. 



School Appropriations and Assessed Valuations 67 



STATEMENT J 

Average Nightly Attendance in Evening Elementary Schools, Show- 
ing Also the Percentage of Increase of Each School Year Over 
the Preceding School Year 



School Year 


Average Nightly 
Attendance 


Increase Over 
Preceding Year 


Per Cent of 
Increase Over 
Preceding Year 


1898-1899 


13,719 






1899-1900 


14,407 


688 


5-oi 


1900-1901 


17,538 


3,i3i 


21.73 


1901-1902 


17,763 


225 


1.28 


1902-1903 


19,986 


2,223 


12.51 


1903-1904 


23,491 


3,505 


17.53 


1904-1905 


28,390 


4,899 


20.85 


1905-1906 


28,821 


43i 


i-5i 


1906-1907 


32,955 


4,i34 


14.34 


1907-1908 


33,273 


3i8 


.96 


1 908-1 909 


32,019 


Less 1,254 


Less 3.76 


1909-1910 


27,725 


Less 4,294 


Less 13.41 


1910-1911 


3o,378 


2,653 


9-56 



68 How New York Citv Administers Its Schools 



STATEMENT K 

Average Nightly Attendance in Evening High and Trade Schools, 
Showing Also the Percentage of Increase of Each School Year 
Over the Preceding School Year 



School Year 


Average Nightly 
Attendance 


Increase Over 
Preceding Year 


Per Cent of 
Increase Over 
Preceding Year 


i 898-1 899 
1899-1900 
1900-1901 
1901-1902 
1902-1903 
1903-1904 
1904-1905 
1905-1906 
1906-1907 
1907-1908 
1908-1909 
1909-1910 
1910-1911 


2,637 
2,880 

3,9oi 
5,121 
4,926 
5,257 
5,257 
7,016 

7,469 
8,476 
9,998 

9,343 
10,829 






243 

1,021 

1,220 

Less 195 

33i 


9.21 

35-45 
31.27 
Less 3.8 
6.71 


i,759 
453 
1,007 
1,522 
Less 655 
1,486 


3346 
6.45 
13.48 
17-95 
Less 6.55 
15.90 



School Appropriations and Assessed Valuations 69 



STATEMENT L 

Average Daily Attendance in Corporate Schools, Showing Also the 
Percentage of Increase of Each School Year Over the Preceding 
School Year 



Year of 
Payment 


Based Upon 

Attendance of 

School Year 


Average 

Daily 

Attendance 


Increase Over 
Preceding Year 


Per Cent of 
Increase Over 
Preceding Year 


1900 
1901 


1898-1899 
1 899-1900 


19,394 
16,417 






Less 2,977 


Less 15.35 


1902 


1900-1901 


18,514 


2,097 


12.77 


1903 


1901-1902 


i9,i45 


631 


3-41 


1904 


1902-1903 


18,730 


Less 415 


Less 2.16 


1905 


1903-1904 


18,733 


3 


.02 


1906 


1904-1905 


18,846 


113 


.60 


1907 


1905-1906 


18,463 


Less 383 


Less 2.03 


1908 


1906-1907 


17,752 


Less 711 


Less 3.85 


1909 


1907-1908 


18,113 


361 


2.03 


1910 


1908-1909 


18,602 


489 


2.69 


1911 


1909-1910 


17,462 


Less 1,140 


Less 6.12 


1912 


1910-1911 


16,722 


Less 740 


Less 4.23 



yo How Nezv York City Administers Its Schools 



Summary— FACTS RELATING TO 

Percentage Increases of Each Year Over the Next Preceding 

Particular Factor Shown in 





Fiscal 


Fiscal 


Fiscal 


Fiscal 


Statement 


Year 


Year 


Year 


Year 




1900 


1901 


1902 


1903 


A Assessed Valuation — Per cent of in- 










crease of one year over next preceding 












13.12 


5-05 


3.66 


1.82 


B "Mill" Product — Per cent of in- 




crease of one year over next preceding 










year 






3-66 


1.82 


C Budget Request — General School 








Fund — Per cent of increase of one 










year over next preceding year . . . 


13-49 


6.31 


7.17 


1.5 


D Appropriation — General School 










Fund — Per cent of increase of one 










year over next preceding year . . . 


19.51 


n. 13 


3-66 


3.29 


E Budget Request Exceeded "Mill" 










Product 






3-27 


2.96 


F Appropriation Exceeded "Mill" 










Product 








1.44 



Average Attendance — Per Cent of Increase of One 



G Day Elementary Schools, including 










kindergartens and practice depart- 










ments of training schools for teachers . 




4.90 


4.92 


5.32 


H Day High Schools 




24.64 


15.08 


11.65 


1 Training Schools for Teachers — 










Theory Department Only .... 










J Evening Elementary Schools . . 




5-oi 


21-73 


1.28 


K Evening High Schools 




9.21 


35-45 


31.27 


L Corporate Schools 




iS-35 * 


12.77 


3-41 



1 Decrease. 



School Appropriations and Assessed Valuations yi 



GENERAL SCHOOL FUND 

Year, Listed est Each Case Under the Fiscal Year Affected by the 
the First Column at the Left 



Fiscal 


Fiscal 


Fiscal 


Fiscal 


Fiscal 


Fiscal 


Fiscal 


Fiscal 


Fiscal 


Year 


Year 


Year 


Year 


Year 


Year 


Year 


Year 


Year 


1904 


1905 


1900 


1907 


1908 


1909 


1910 


1911 


1912 


40.84 


3.83 


4.81 


6.65 


7.76 


5-33 


1.28 


2.29 


10.78 


S-63 


3.83 


4.81 


6.65 


7.76 


5-33 


1.28 


2.29 


10.78 


8.43 


8.63 


3.60 


7.52 


5-25 


5-9i 


5.85 


3-65 


17-35 


6.42 


6.76 


5-37 


5-90 


6.00 


5.02 


4.68 


3-72 


18.47 


5-47 


9.64 


8-59 


9-33 


7.17 


7.68 


11.66 


12.83 


17.70 


2.20 


5-09 


5.6s 


4.90 


3.19 


2.88 


6-33 


7.82 


15.29 



School Year Over the Next Preceding School Year 



4.48 


5.82 


4.26 


3-78 


3-27 


3.83 


4.65 


1.64 


2.56 


8.87 


n-53 


6.81 


4-95 


5-14 


13.00 


22.36 


10.05 


7.40 


1-54 * 


31-47 


16.53 


25.65 


32.15 


14-35 


17.04 


8.98 


.38 » 


12.51 


17-53 


20.85 


i-5i 


14-34 


.96 


3.76 x 


i3-4i x 


9-56 


3-8 * 


6.71 




33-46 


6-45 


13.48 


17-95 


6.55 x 


15.90 


2.16 * 


.02 


.60 


2.03 1 


3.85 * 


2.03 


2.69 


6.12 1 


4-23 x 



1 Decrease. 



72 How New York City Administers Its Schools 



STATEMENT M 

Amount of the School Building Fund for New School Buildings and 
Sites Authorized in each year 

Fiscal Amount of Corporate 

Year Stock Authorized 

189S None (year of consolidation) 

1899 - $7,683,640.00 

1900 3,500,000.00 

1901 3,700,000.00 

1902 8,000,000.00 

1903 9,788,430-00 

1904 9,350,000.00 

1905 15,000,000.00 

1906 13,000,000.00 

1907 3,500,000.00 

1908 8,771,779.00 

1909 1,600,966.04 

1910 5,270,173.26 

19 11 12,138,387.39 

In the year 1904 the Board of Estimate and Apportion- 
ment reduced /the General School Fund a quarter million 
dollars, then authorized a transfer from the General Repair 
appropriation to the General School Fund, and finally 
granted Special Revenue Bonds to eke out the General Re- 
pair item. 

In the years 1905, 1906, and 1908 the General Repair item 
was again arbitrarily reduced, and then additional funds 
given by means of Special Revenue Bonds. In 1906 the 
reduction amounted to a half million dollars, and the Board 
of Education was obliged to appeal to the legislature for 
relief, for the reason that the financial authorities were 
unable to recoup the cuts from appropriations out of the 
full amount of Special Revenue Bonds which the law per- 
mitted them to issue during the year. The Board of Edu- 
cation was obliged to shift for itself, and, in the end, the 
legislature passed a special act to relieve the situation. 

In the years 1910 and 191 1 the fund for Compensation 



School Appropriations and Assessed Valuations 73 



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74 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

of Janitors was cut by the financial authorities below the 
fixed rate of expenditure, and Revenue Bonds subsequently 
granted to make good the deficit. 

In the year 191 1 the fund for General Supplies was sub- 
jected to the same treatment. 

A study of these tables shows that there is no constant 
relation in New York City between the annual increase in 
the assessed valuation of property and the increase in 
average attendance in the schools. If this is true the schools 
cannot be adequately funded by means of a constant pro- 
portion of an unchanging tax rate, unless that proportion 
be made large enough -to provide a margin to take care of 
unexpected needs. The tables also show that there is no 
constant relation between the increase in appropriations 
from year to year and the increase in average attendance 
in the schools. And they show an annual difference between 
the amount of money available in the Special School Fund 
and the amount requested by the Board of Education for 
the present year, and the last one of about a million and a 
half dollars per annum, or that more than twenty per cent of 
the amount estimated as needed for its work by the Board 
of Education was refused it by the fiscal authorities of the 
city. It is not to be expected that the schools can be kept 
in as good condition on 4/5 of the money which is esti- 
mated as necessary, as on 5/5 of it. The discrepancy be- 
tween the amount asked for and the amount allowed seems 
to be altogether too great for either good fiscal administra- 
tion, or the proper operation of the schools. Some method 
can, and should be, adopted by which the public service can 
be rendered more secure than it now is. Both the more 
careful preparation of the estimates, and the more careful 
consideration of them when they are presented, seem to 
be required. 



CHAPTER VI 

NEED FOR SIMPLIFIED METHODS OF 
ACCOUNTING TO THE CITY 

THERE is one other respect in which the conditions 
which affect the work of the Board of Education can 
be improved. That is by a needed simplification of re- 
quirements as to the forms in which accounts are to be 
submitted to the auditing department of the city. The 
Board of Education, acting under the authority conferred 
upon it by Section 1068 of the charter, makes its own 
by-laws for the conduct of its business. But from time 
to time requirements are made, and not always with suffi- 
cient consideration for the work which must be done, which 
necessitate radical departures from the requirements which 
it has found necessary for the proper conduct of its 
business. 

A communication from the Comptroller of the city on 
or about February 6, 191 1, is to the effect that, where so 
much work is going on under the supervision of many dif- 
ferent heads, it is entirely in the interest of the city to 
adopt rules which will assist the respective heads in de- 
termining that actual value is being given to the city for 
the money expended; that all that the Department of 
Finance requires is a statement on the bill itself showing 
the quantities of the different materials furnished and the 
number of hours consumed in the work by the different 
classes of employees; that itemized bills are a great as- 
sistance in protecting the city against excessive claims. All 
this seems quite reasonable, but the Committee on Buildings 
explains that it will very gravely affect its methods of doing 

75 



j6 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

business; that it is now carrying out the work referred 
to by the Comptroller in accordance with subdivisions 2, 3, 
and 5 of Section 31 of the by-laws of the Board of Edu- 
cation, which require the obtaining of competitive bids; 
that, when such competitive bids are received, the com- 
mittee does not feel justified in asking the contractors to 
render itemized bills; that, if the Comptroller insists on 
this requirement, the only way which would seem feasible 
is to issue orders without competition to the contractors 
and to request the submission of itemized bills for the 
work; that, if this is done, it will involve additional cost 
of from twenty-five per cent to thirty per cent, and to do 
it the by-laws of the board should be amended. 

The Board of Education is requested to prepare for each 
monthly payroll of teachers submitted a schedule of deduc- 
tions, showing the name, amount, school, period of time, 
and nature of deduction. In one month there were 5,178 
such deductions for absence, which, if normal for the eleven 
payrolls of the year, would make the number about 55,000. 
This would mean that 55,000 items already entered upon 
the original payrolls must be listed separately, thus delay- 
ing the preparation of the payrolls beyond the time fixed 
for them, and placing a heavy burden of seemingly needless 
copying of records, already sufficient for all purposes, upon 
the clerks in the offices of the Board of Education. 

A colossal amount of supplementary record making is 
constantly being required by the Department of Finance. 
In the case of a small department of the city's govern- 
ment, this would not be difficult to furnish ; but, in the case 
of a vast undertaking like that of the Board of Education, 
it is next to impossible to supply it. The Department 
of Finance requires advance notices of all repair work about 
to be done under orders, contracts, or agreements, so that 
it may send inspectors to inspect such work while it is in 
progress. But a special staff of clerks would be required 
to keep track of notifications of all the work that is being 
done, and the time at which each job is to be begun; and 



Need for Simplified Methods of Accounting JJ 

a force of inspectors as large as that which the Bureau of 
Buildings maintains would have to be detailed to accom- 
pany the Bureau of Buildings' inspectors all the time. 

Copies of all orders issued by the Bureau of School 
Supplies also are asked for in order that inspectors from 
the Department of Finance may inspect such supplies upon 
their delivery. As supplies are received by the principals 
of the different schools, as well as at the several depositories 
of the Board of Education, a large staff of inspectors would 
be needed for that purpose, and without such a staff the 
heavy labor of furnishing copies of all orders would be 
in vain. Such a system of duplicate inspection would in- 
evitably complicate and delay the delivery of supplies, — 
and such delivery is a business of no little difficulty even 
when all hindering conditions are removed. 

Again, the Board of Education is asked to synchronize 
its accounts with those of the Department of Finance twelve 
times each year. All claims allowed in a given month by 
the one department must reach the other in time to be 
allowed and entered as a transaction of that month also. 
No charge must be made by one until it is made by the 
other also. Much time and energy are to be spent in over- 
coming the features of duality, distance, differences in office 
routine, and difference in the doing of business. The books 
are in effect to be closed twelve times a year. 

THE SCHOOLS MUST BE FREE 

These and many similar hindrances to efficiency are forced 
upon the Board of Education by the effort to establish a 
uniform method by which the business of all departments 
shall be reduced to the same system. Every change in offi- 
cers at the City Hall involves a new system and method of 
doing the school business. The difficulty is a fundamental 
one ; namely, 'that each department exists to perform its own 
work under the conditions peculiar to that work, which make 
its task different from those of other departments. It is 



78 Hozv New York City Administers Its ScJiools 

commonly recognized that education cannot be reduced to 
the same system of administrative control as can be followed 
in dealing with the health, police, and fire departments of 
a city, because the school is an institution coordinate in 
dignity and importance with government, the church, and 
the family, and must not be subordinated to any one of 
them. For its work it requires freedom; and through its 
necessities it has obtained freedom of thought, freedom of 
speech, and is now in process of attaining a third form of 
freedom equally necessary to its undertaking, namely, the 
freedom of teaching. This means that it itself shall con- 
trol its own courses of study, its own methods and condi- 
tions of instruction, sufficient money for its business, and 
its own expenditures of funds set apart for purposes of 
education. Other cities have recognized this necessity for 
freedom of instruction ahead of New York City, as the 
following statements of methods of school administration 
supplied by their school authorities — the Superintendent of 
Schools in the case of Boston, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, 
Kansas City, and St. Louis, and the Secretary of the School 
Board of Chicago — will indicate : 

Boston 

" Under the Boston charter the School Committee is 
an entirely independent board, and is not subject to con- 
trol, direct or indirect, by any other city authority, ex- 
cept that its appropriations are submitted to the mayor 
for approval, and, in case of a veto, must be passed by 
a two-thirds' vote of the board. This condition applies 
both to the general appropriation which comes from the 
tax levy and to the specific expenses during the year. 
The amount of money to be raised by tax is fixed by 
the legislature, which specifies the maximum amount 
that can be raised on each $1,000 of the tax levy. The 
School Committee invariably appropriates the whole of 
this amount in one lump sum, and it is invariably ap- 
proved by the mayor. Consequently, the veto authority 



Need for Simplified Methods of Accounting 79 

of the mayor is unimportant, because by vetoing a par- 
ticular appropriation he does not thereby reduce the 
expense, but merely indicates a preference that it be ex- 
pended in some other direction. It is very rare, there- 
fore, that specific items are vetoed, and, whenever they 
are, they are usually promptly passed over the veto, on 
the ground that the School Committee is the better judge 
of the relative merits of conflicting claims for the money 
at its disposal. The mayor occasionally vetoes the 
item in the general appropriation for new school build- 
ings, and the School Committee promptly passes the 
amount over his veto. Whenever the school committee 
finds that it cannot conduct the schools properly with 
the money at its disposal, it applies to the legislature for 
authority to increase the levy. During the past six years 
these applications have been frequent and the legislature 
has usually granted the request." 

Philadelphia 

" The new school code for Pennsylvania went into 
effect January 1,1912. In accordance with this code, 
the School Board of Philadelphia was made an inde- 
pendent taxing body. The board can also make loans 
to the extent of 2 per cent of the total valuation of the 
taxable property. All bonds issued become due at stated 
periods, not exceeding 30 years. The taxes are collected 
the same as heretofore by the regular city authorities. 
The assessment is made annually, and an estimated 
statement of this assessment is certified to the board 
before the first day of November of each year. 

" The Receiver of Taxes reports to the School Board 
at the end of each month the total amount of school 
taxes collected during the month. He must also make 
an annual statement by the first Monday of February 
of each year, giving a statement of the total amount of 
school taxes standing unpaid. The School Board makes 
an approximate estimate of the amount of funds re- 



8o Hozv New York City Administers Its Schools 

quired for the several departments for the following 
fiscal year. Such estimate is apportioned to the several 
classes of expenditures as the board may determine. 
Each school order must state on its face the particular 
item of the school estimate upon which it is drawn." 

Indianapolis 

" i. The Board of School Commissioners is a sep- 
arate and distinct corporation. 

" 2. It has power to make its levy under the statute 
of Indiana, which is in the aggregate 67 cents on the 
$100.00 of taxables in the city of Indianapolis; but the 
board is not taking advantage of its full power to levy 
67 cents, and has, for the year 191 1, made the levy 60 
cents, divided into the several funds, amounts, and 
purposes : 

Special Fund 44 cents 

Manual Training Fund 5 

Library Fund 4 

Buildings and Grounds Funds 5 

Free Kindergarten Fund 1 

Teachers' Pension Fund 1 

Total 60 cents on the 

$100.00 of taxables in the city of Indianapolis 

" Besides the levy power, the statute gives the board 
a bond-issuing power each calendar year of $75,000.00 
for new buildings and grounds only. 

" In addition to the foregoing, under the State Edu- 
cational Law the board receives its proportion of a state 
tuition fund distributed according to the annual enu- 
meration of school children in the city from 6 to 21 years 
of age, which yielded for 1911-12 $316,152.18, to be 
used only in paying teachers." 



Need for Simplified Methods of Accounting 81 

Chicago 

" ist. The revenue of the Board of Education of 
Chicago available for new buildings, sites, and additions 
to old buildings, and permanent improvements, is de- 
rived from direct taxation, and is not subject to re- 
duction. The board may ask the City Council to levy 
up to $1.50 per $100.00 on the equalized assessed 
valuation. 

"2d. The revenue for educational or maintenance 
purposes is mainly derived from taxation. The Board 
of Education is authorized to ask the City Council to 
levy a rate for such purposes of not more than $1.50 
per $100.00 on the equalized assessed valuation, but this 
is subject to a reduction under what is known as the 
Juul law down to a minimum rate of $1.00 per $100.00. 
In addition to the maintenance revenue from taxes the 
Board of Education has an income from interest on 
permanent funds derived from the sale of lands located 
in the original Section 16, and the rents of the remain- 
ing land in such section, and a pro rata share of the 
appropriation by the state legislature of $2,000,000 for 
common school purposes, which is distributed through- 
out the counties of the state on a per capita basis, based 
upon the number of minors in each county, as shown 
by the last federal census. The experience of the board 
is that the City Council has always levied the amounts 
requested. 

" 3d. The City Council provides for the tax levy for 
school purposes, and when the money is collected by the 
county treasurer it is turned over to the city treasurer 
to the credit of the Board of Education, and is not sub- 
ject to the control of the City Council, except as to 
appropriations made for new buildings or new sites. 
On these two matters the council has the veto power. 
The subdivision into appropriation is made by the Board 
of Education and is done at the beginning of each calen- 
dar year." 



82 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

Kansas City 

" It is necessary, for a clear understanding of the 
condition, to state that the municipal government of a 
city, town, or village in this state has nothing to do 
whatsoever with the school government. Both are inde- 
pendent corporations, each carrying on its functions in 
its own way under the laws of the state, and practically 
over the same population, though the corporate limits 
of the organizations may not extend over the same area. 

" The Board of Education levies taxes for three pur- 
poses — the general expenses of carrying on the work 
of the schools; the purchase of school sites and the 
erection of buildings; and a sinking fund for paying 
accrued interest and bonded debts. The revenue is 
chiefly derived from local taxation, state appropriations, 
and from interest on county and township school funds. 
The school tax levied by the Board of Education is col- 
lected by the county collector, and is paid to the school 
treasurer, upon whom school warrants are drawn. 

" The school boards of this state are limited only by 
the Constitution of the State and the statutory enact- 
ments of the legislature made in pursuance thereof. 
However, above a certain per cent, authorized by the 
constitution for school purposes, the voters of a dis- 
trict may vote to increase the school levy, not to exceed 
a specified constitutional limit." 

St. Louis 

" Sections 2 and 3 of the Charter of the Board of 
Education enacted by the General Assembly of the 
State of Missouri read as follows : 

" ' Every city in this state now having, or which may 
hereafter have, five hundred thousand inhabitants or 
over, together with the territory now within its limits, 
or which may in the future be included by any change 
thereof, shall be and constitute a single school district, 



Need for Simplified Methods of Accounting 83 

shall be a body corporate, and the supervision and gov- 
ernment of public schools and public school property 
therein shall be vested in a board of twelve members, 
to be called and known as the " Board of Education of 

" (in which title the name of such city 

shall be inserted), and in a Superintendent of Instruc- 
tion, and a Commissioner of School Buildings. Such 
Board of Education shall, by and in said name, sue and 
be sued, purchase, receive, hold and sell property, do all 
things necessary to accomplish the purpose for the at- 
tainment of which such school district is organized, and 
succeed to all the property, rights, and privileges, of 
whatever kind or nature, granted, and belonging to any 
previous corporation, Board of Directors, or school dis- 
trict in such city, or officers thereof, authorized or em- 
powered by any enactment of the General Assembly of 
the state to do anything in reference to public educa- 
tion.' (Section 2.) 

" ' Every such Board of Education shall have general 
and supervising control, government, and management 
of the public schools and public school property in such 
city ; shall exercise generally all powers in the adminis- 
tration of the public school system therein, appoint such 
officers, agents, and employees as it may deem necessary 
and proper, and fix their compensation ; shall have power 
to fix the time of its meetings, to make, amend and re- 
peal rules and by-laws for its meetings and proceedings, 
for the government, regulation and management of the 
public schools and school property in such city, and for 
the transaction of its business, and the examination, 
qualification, and employment of teachers, which rules 
and by-laws shall be binding on such Board of Educa- 
tion, and all parties dealing with it, until formally re- 
pealed; to provide for special and standing commit- 
tees, to loan its funds, and to levy such taxes as are, 
or may be, authorized by law for school purposes, and 
to purchase and hold all property, real and personal, 



84 Hozv New York City Administers Its Schools 

deemed by it necessary for the purposes of public edu- 
cation, or for the investment of the public school funds, 
to build and construct improvements for such purposes, 
and to sell the same. Such Board of Education shall 
have all the powers of other school districts under the 
laws of this state, except as herein provided.' (Sec- 
tion 3.)" 

Many other cities that have a reputation for the high 
character of their schools have adopted similar methods for 
controlling and financing public education. Among them 
are Cleveland, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, Seattle, Denver, Port- 
land, Oregon, Columbus, and Toledo. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE KIND OF BOARD OF EDUCATION 
NEEDED 

THERE is the most pressing need for an authoritative 
definition of the school law and for a consolidation of 
school administration, and an elimination of all impeding 
relations of other boards and departments to the school 
system. There is most pressing need, also, for a new kind 
of Board of Education. A school board of forty-six mem- 
bers is an anachronism in school administration. The ex- 
perience of American cities has been that school guidance 
by a crowd is a poor form of guidance. For this reason 
Philadelphia has changed the number in its school board 
from forty-two to fifteen; St. Louis from twenty-one to 
twelve ; Boston from twenty- four to five, and Atlanta from 
fourteen to seven. The hall of the Board of Education in 
New York City is like the meeting place of a parliamentary 
body, but the failure in functioning of the large board does 
not lie in the fact that it spends its time in speech-making. 
The journal shows that only some twenty-nine different mat- 
ters were discussed by the board at its meetings within one 
year. It also shows that only a few members take part 
in such discussions, and that the orators of the board rarely 
lose an opportunity to be heard in them. The subjects which 
provoked discussion were such as proposed salary schedules ; 
reports of findings against members of the staff in cases 
where charges had been brought; the merging of eligible 
lists; the request of a neighborhood association to be per- 
mitted to use a high school assembly room for addresses 
and musical entertainments on Sunday evenings, and to 

85 



86 How New York City Administers Its ScJiools 

charge an admission fee; the size of kindergarten classes, 
and the advisability of employing kindergarten teachers all 
day; the appointment of a married woman to a position; 
the references to the Irish Brigade in the textbook on 
United States history; the educational provisions of the 
proposed charter; the estimates for the coming year; the 
recommendations of the Board of Retirement, etc. These 
were most of the debated points in the business of the year. 



DEFECTS IN THE PRESENT BOARD 

What the large board does lack, and must, from its size, 
lack, is unity, comprehension of its work, and energy in 
the performance of it. The large board inevitably splits up 
into factions. Places cannot be found for all on its more 
important committees. Some of its members must of neces- 
sity be more active than others. A few must guide while 
the others look on. It is too big for the consideration of 
policies. Its members do not know each other well enough 
to discuss their common function together. Without this 
intimacy of confidence the consideration of general plans 
for the welfare of the department is seldom or never reached. 
Each new member is overwhelmed by the routine which he 
finds in operation when he arrives, and, not being able to 
get a comprehension of the work of the department as a 
whole and in detail, he, little by little, acquiesces in the 
established routine as the proper method of conducting the 
school system. To do the thing that has been done, for 
the most part in the way it has been done, becomes the 
accepted notion of the board's business. The result is a 
non-progressive school administration. 

There are some things which the Board of Education has 
done, which, for the educational welfare of the city, it 
ought not to have done. There are more things which it 
has left undone which it ought, in protecting the interests 
intrusted to it, to have done. As a board it has not come 
to close quarters with its work. It has trusted its commit- 



The Kind of Board Needed 87 

tees to handle its business. It has no defined educational 
policy, and has not led in educational matters. It has not 
upheld the Education Law, but has allowed other depart- 
ments of the city government to interpret the law for it, 
and to encroach upon its evident rights and functions almost 
to the point of eliminating it from the actual management 
and control of the public school system of the city. It has 
not charged itself with the duty of perfecting the law in 
order that it might itself fix the salaries of its own clerks 
and janitors as the necessities of its business require. It 
has not fought for adequate appropriations for school pur- 
poses. It has not cooperated in the proper measure with 
the local school boards, nor availed itself of their strength. 
It has not built up a strong unofficial public school auxiliary 
among the citizens. It has not played a strong part in edu- 
cational legislation affecting its own work, such as the equal 
pay bill, and the proposed new charter of last year. It 
has not devised one system for the administration of its 
business, but several more or less unrelated and independent 
systems. It has not sufficiently considered the recommenda- 
tions and suggestions which its own experts have made for 
the improvement of its work. 

^ On the other hand, it has helped to pass " the anti-merging 
bill," which makes mandatory upon it and its successors the 
appointing of all candidates whose names are on the eligible 
list for three years, no matter how many better qualified 
teachers are available at the time. 



WHAT IS NEEDED FOR GOOD SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION 

" The persons from whose agency the attainment of any 
end is expected, ought to possess the means by which it is 
attained." The end sought is the best possible education 
of the children. The Board of Education ought to possess 
the means for conducting and managing the schools. These 
means are a clear and definite law defining its functions, the 
consolidation of all the activities of the school system under 



88 Hozv New York City Administers Its Schools 



its jurisdiction, a dependable and sufficient income for school 
maintenance, freedom from official interference on the part 
of other municipal bodies, a school board of a character to 
make energetic administration possible, and such a systema- 
tization of functions as will accomplish the one object of 
the undertaking — the education of the young. 

CHARACTER AND SIZE OF THE BOARD 

Such a board must conduct its business as a board. The 
present board transacts its business by committees. Its de- 
cisions are not based upon the informed and deliberate 
judgment of the whole body, but upon the recommenda- 
tions of its committees, based upon considerations not 
known to the board. It, and it alone, should represent 
the whole population in respect to its educational interests, 
and not territorial localities or denominations, political, 
religious, financial, or otherwise. Such a board must not 
be too big for unity of plan and unity of action. Whether 
it has five, seven, nine, eleven, or fifteen members is im- 
material, if this one condition is met. The theory that a 
big city must have a big board is a patent absurdity. The 
big city must have a small board, because its school busi- 
ness is big and demands informed, united, and energetic 
action on the part of those who conduct it. 

HOW CREATED 

How should such a board be created, by appointment 
of the mayor, or by the election at large ? In such a way as 
to secure the educational leadership of the best possible 
persons, and to free them entirely from partisan or per- 
sonal obligations of every sort, manner, and form. Im- 
personal mayors are rare, and the best boards of educa- 
tion seem to be selected by direct vote of the people them- 
selves. No method has yet been devised that will free 
the people from the necessity for constant watchfulness 



The Kind of Board Needed 89 

for the welfare of their schools. Should the members of 
such a board be paid? Most emphatically no. The ex- 
perience of the United States is against such an arrange- 
ment for the conduct of the schools. The paid board puts 
the management of public education into the hands of lay- 
men; it belongs to experts. The services of the best citi- 
zens cannot be purchased for this purpose, and the lay 
service that is purchasable is not wanted if the interests 
of education are to determine the character of the board. 
The small unpaid board which we recommend must be well 
provided with paid expert service to put its policies into 
effect. 

THE FUNCTIONS OF A BOARD OF EDUCATION 

Its functions are not executive, but legislative, delibera- 
tive, advisory, and report-hearing. In the nature of the 
case, being a lay body, it cannot itself run the schools. 
Instead, it is there to represent the people by performing 
for them certain delegated functions of selecting experts 
to run the schools, advising with them as to how the people 
would have public education conducted, examining into the 
sufficiency of their plans, passing upon their reports of 
results, and maintaining a general oversight over all that 
they do; upholding and protecting them in their work as 
long as it is satisfactory, and putting others in their places 
as soon as it ceases to be so. 



ITS MOST IMPORTANT DUTY 

Perhaps the most important of all the duties of a board 
of education is to give such thoughtful consideration to 
its functions as shall enable it clearly to distinguish them 
from those of the experts whom it employs and charges 
with the conduct of the several divisions of the educational 
undertaking. Until boards of education are able to mark 
off the functions which they reserve for themselves in the 



90 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

general scheme of school management from the functions 
which they expect their responsible agents to perform, and, 
at the same time, define the duties of each of these agents 
with respect to the others and with respect to the board 
itself, such a systematizing of responsibility as should or- 
ganize the schools cannot possibly obtain. The board may, 
of course, find it necessary from time to time to intrust 
the special oversight of certain parts of its undertaking to 
committees of its members; but only for the purposes of 
preparing the business of these divisions for submission 
to the board itself, and not for the conduct of this business 
by the committee. Such committees it will reduce to the 
lowest possible number, in so far as it can, retaining for 
itself the necessity of becoming acquainted with its work 
as a whole and of employing the informed and deliberate 
judgment of the whole body to conduct its business. All 
routine matters not involving change of policy, or calling 
for special deliberation or decision on the part of the board, 
it will, by appropriate by-laws, intrust to its departmental 
staff, thus leaving itself free to attend to the major duties 
of its undertaking. It will also devise a system of reports 
which its departmental officers shall submit to it concern- 
ing the performance of their work. An enlarged staff it 
must have, and thoroughly adequate provision it must make 
for the gathering of information, and the printing and 
distribution of reports. Thus the Board of Education, like 
the board of directors of a business corporation, will look 
after the interests of the stockholders of the business, who, 
in this case, are the people; and will guarantee to them 
the proper dividends upon their investment, which, in this 
case, are the greatest possible educational benefits which 
they can, with the means at their disposal, provide for the 
children of the city; and, just as the actual management 
of the corporation is, and must be, intrusted to a staff of 
expert assistants whose work is guided and directed by its 
executive officer who reports to the directors and transmits 
their directions to his assistants, so must the work of a 



The Kind of Board Needed 91 

board of education be conducted if the principles of scien- 
tific management are to be followed, and the highest effi- 
ciency of the school system is to be secured. 



A GENERAL MANAGER NEEDED 

What the Board of Education most lacks, and most needs, 
in its internal organization at the present time is a general 
manager, one head for its work who can captain the ship, 
protect and advance the undertaking, supply the energy 
that is needed, urge and direct the making of necessary 
plans for the whole department, fit its parts properly to- 
gether, and keep them fitted together, so that they will 
function as one whole; consult with and dispose of most 
of the administrative problems which the heads of divi- 
sions must now refer to the various committees of the 
board, eliminate friction, and constantly devise ways and 
means for the betterment of the service in each of its 
particulars. 

At present the Board of Education is the head of the 
school department. This head is composed of forty-six 
persons, and it has four executive officers with coordinate 
powers each responsible for his compartment of the ship. 
They are the City Superintendent of Schools, the Super- 
intendent of Buildings, the Superintendent of School Sup- 
plies, and the Auditor of the Board of Education. But 
there is no one pilot of the ship; no directive head of the 
whole undertaking, save as the forty-six direct it. To this 
defect of organization, more than to any other, we think, 
is due the present unsatisfactory condition of school ad- 
ministration in New York. It is a custom which cities 
observe, to blame the superintendent of schools for what 
is amiss in the school department, and criticisms of the one 
man power are heard in this city; but it is not the one 
man power, but the no man power, which is directing the 
schools, and this system of irresponsibility is preventing 
the proper conduct of the educational activities of the city. 



92 How Neiv York City Administers Its Schools 



THE KIND OF GENERAL MANAGER NEEDED 

The Board of Education must employ a general manager. 
This whole department and all that it includes are for pur- 
poses of education. When a man is wanted to manage 
a bank, a banker is selected. When a man is wanted to 
operate a railroad, a railroad man is chosen. And when 
a man is appointed to conduct an educational business, an 
educator must be chosen. If the people of New York want 
an educational system, they will put an educator at the head 
of it and make him general manager, and not put him in 
a subordinate position. If they do not want an educational 
system as much as they want a system of records, or of 
disbursing funds, or of political service, they will put men 
of these interests at the head of their school system and give 
the superintendent of instruction a secondary place. The 
one who is the expert in the work which is sought to be 
done must direct it. The others on the staff are contribut- 
ing factors. School administration is sometimes divided 
between a business manager and an educational manager. 
This gives the business of the board two heads ; but it is 
only one business, and two heads cannot well manage the 
affairs of one. The superintendent of schools must, then, 
be the general manager of the system. 

As such he should be given sufficient power and authority 
by the laws and by the board of education to conduct the 
schools. He now sits with the board and has the right to 
speak at its meetings. But the time has come for a new 
development in functions. Just as railroads have found 
it advisable to make their general managers directors of 
the road, and universities to make their presidents regents, 
so must cities make their superintendents members of the 
board of education during the term for which they hold 
office, and require that their votes be made a matter of 
record so that there can be no question in fixing responsi- 
bility for what is done and what is not done in the admin- 
istration of the educational department. Thus will the 



The Kind of Board Needed 93 

ancient jealousy between the board of education and its own 
director be eradicated from school systems. 

The legislation necessary to make this change should, of 
course, provide for the same right of dismissal of the super- 
intendent by the board of education that university regents 
exercise in regard to presidents, who, by virtue of their 
office, are regents of the university. Yet, in this matter, 
there is a strange contradiction in school regulations. The 
head of the department of instruction holds office for a 
term of years, and must be reelected or dismissed at the 
end of that time; the clerks in his office hold office perma- 
nently under civil service regulations; and the teachers in 
the instructing staff hold office for life, or during good be- 
havior. It is questionable whether an ironclad permanence 
of tenure is best for any of them; but, at any rate, it is 
difficult to see why the head of the system should be the 
least secure of all the members of the staff in the perma- 
nence of his position, when, by all rules of reasoning, the 
director of an undertaking should be more firmly estab- 
lished than any one else, in order to direct with authority. 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND ITS 
COMMITTEES 

IN criticising the work of the Board of Education as a 
whole I must not be understood as finding fault with 
the work performed by its committees, its individual mem- 
bers, or its executive staff. Such a rating of their activities 
would be most unjust. While the Board of Education is 
a large, loose, and ineffective body, which does not assemble 
on time for its meetings, and only partly comes to order 
when it does assemble, its members give their time freely 
to committee work, and discharge their duties in this re- 
spect in a devoted and painstaking manner. So efficient are 
these small, compact groups when they meet to dispose of 
the business which is brought to them, that I am confident 
that any one of its major committees would make a more 
effective board of education than the board itself. The 
internal weakness of the present system is that the com- 
mittees do the work and that there is nothing of real mo- 
ment left for the board to do, but to meet and formally 
ratify what the committees have done. If what they have 
done is ratified without any question as to the wisdom of 
the recommendation being raised, it is hard to see just why 
this formal and unthinking duplication of action which has 
already been arrived at by inquiry, deliberation, and ex- 
amination is necessary at all. On the other hand, if what 
the committee presents is not formally approved by the 
board, it must be remembered that the board has no other 
regular agency for investigating the work of a given field 
than just this committee whose conclusion, based upon in- 

94 



The Board and Its Committees 95 

vestigation and study of the facts, it, without a systematic 
study and investigation of the matter, declines to support. 

DEFECTS OF THE PRESENT SYSTEM 

It seems to me that no other conclusion is possible than 
this: Either the board ought to formulate its action as a 
result of its own informed and deliberate judgment, in which 
case the committees should by no means have the responsi- 
bility which they now have; or the committees should, by 
their informed and deliberate judgment, determine what is 
to be done, in which case the board is not necessary, and 
whatever unity obtains in the system will be due to their 
accidental agreement or to elaborate and long-drawn-out 
communications by the interchange of letters between the 
several equally authoritative committees. As a matter of 
fact this last is the system which is in effect now. 

But the trouble is that just as the law as it is interpreted 
now does not systematize the functions and duties of the 
Board of Education and the Board of Estimate and Ap- 
portionment, but leads to a confusion of interference and 
indefinite responsibility, just so the committee system of 
the board leads to a confusion of authority and action in 
determining policies and action for the control of the schools. 
The committees do not form an interlocking system, but 
a series of more or less independent sovereignties ; each has 
a business of its own, and is, naturally, exceedingly jealous 
of its own prerogatives. They communicate with each other 
diplomatically, like pride-protecting, independent states. 
Each committee conducts the work of its own executive 
bureau, to which it functions as a board of directors, and 
whose business must wait upon the meeting of the com- 
mittee for its disposal, since there is no resident director 
present at the offices all the time, to whom the division 
heads may appeal for decision, guidance, advice, and direc- 
tion. Much delay in conducting the business of the board 
is caused by this retention of executive duties by the board 
members, and the calendars of the committees are crowded 



i)6 Hon' New York City Administers Its Sciiools 

with a mass of routine details which do not in their nature 
call for board action for their disposal. A resident director, 
or general manager, duly authorized by law, could take 
care of much of this detail, and his presence would make 
greatly for the strengthening and unifying of the work 
of the different bureaus, and for the direct and speedy 
transaction of the business of the school department. What- 
ever can properly be settled and handled by the staff itself 
should not be allowed to consume the time and energy of 
the board members. 

The principles of good business management demand 
that executive functions shall be delegated to experts em- 
ployed by the board, and not performed by the board itself 
or its committees. 1 If most that is to be done must be re- 
ferred to a committee of the board before it can be done, 
business lags, and a strong and responsible executive staff 
cannot be built up. The board itself is charged with the 
general direction of the business, with shaping the policies 
that are to be carried out by its staff, with systematizing 
their work, with passing upon reports of their acts, and 
with legislating for the business as a whole. When it 
charges itself with responsibility for conducting the de- 
tails of the system it has no time or energy left for these 
more important matters, and, besides, it ties the hands of 
its administrative staff so that it cannot discharge its 
functions. 

WHAT THE COMMITTEES SHOULD DO 

What should the committees of a board of education 
do? In order that the board may function as a whole, 
the number of such committees must be as few as possible, 
and their authority must be limited to the initiation of 
action by means of recommendations and suggestions, and 
not be allowed to extend to the final disposal of business, 

1 Commissioner Andrew S. Draper has stated the principle which applies 
admirably: " Boards legislate and individuals execute. Boards should not be 
permitted to manage executive business, and individuals should not be left to 
themselves in the determination of policies." 



The Board and Its Committees 97 

except where specific matters are, from time to time, re- 
ferred to them for decision by the board as a whole. In 
no other way can the board retain for itself the function 
of administering the schools for which it, and not its com- 
mittees, was created by the people. 

A SMALL BOARD NECESSARY 

It may be objected, as it has been against the proposal 
that New York City must have a small school board, that 
a big city must have a school board with a great number 
of committees because the quantity of work to be attended 
to is so great. But many committees are no more neces- 
sary in the one case than a large board in the other. What 
is much more necessary than either of these is a systematiz- 
ing of functions by which the Board of Education will 
clearly separate its task and responsibility of legislating in- 
ternally and externally for the schools from that of its 
administrative staff, which is employed to execute the plans 
which the board approves. The principles and agencies for 
good school administration are the same in the large city 
as in the small one. The task is the same. What the big 
city demands is a particularly compact and efficient school 
directorate employing an exceptionally efficient, well-organ- 
ized^ and large staff to execute its policies and attend to its 
routine. A board of education small enough to give a 
unified, thoughtful, and energetic administration of the 
schools is one of the first available means of protecting 
them. Such a board will function as a whole, and not give 
over its authority to groups of its members. The great num- 
ber of such committees at present is due, not to the inherent 
necessities of the work, but to the great number of board 
members for whom committee appointment must be found. 
The size of the board determines its organization and the 
way it must handle its business. When they are once created 
work must be found for the committees, and functions which 
should be intrusted to an executive staff are retained by 
board members. 



98 Hozv Nezv York City Administers Its Schools 

THE PRESENT COMPARTMENTAL SYSTEM 

There is abundant evidence in the records of the board 
that this compartmental system of school administration has 
decided disadvantages, and that the different branches of 
the board's activity, like the branches of a tree, grow con- 
stantly farther away from each other. There is no execu- 
tive officer charged with the duty of relating the work of 
the various bureaus of the system. The City Superintendent 
is popularly supposed to have this duty, and public opinion 
holds him responsible for everything that invites criticism 
in connection with the schools; but he is only one of sev- 
eral executive officers of the board, and his jurisdiction 
does not extend beyond his own division. This compart- 
mental system calls for a general manager to relate its parts 
and to solve problems which arise as to their relations. In 
the nature of the case the Board of Education cannot supply 
such a unification of the work of its committees and their 
bureaus under the present system. Matters which call for 
decision must be continually referred and re-referred, and 
differences of opinion on the part of committees may block 
action altogether. 

Illustrations of all this abound. The Committee on Build- 
ings refers to the Elementary Schools Committee the ques- 
tion as to whether couches shall be a part of the regular 
equipment for classes of crippled children. Some micro- 
scopes are stolen from a high school, and upon the Superin- 
tendent of School Supplies falls the duty of recovering them. 
The Board of Superintendents suggests the dropping of 
various items from the lists of supplies furnished to the 
schools; the Committee on Supplies must decide the mat- 
ter. The Committee on High Schools requests the Building 
Committee to investigate the advisability of installing for- 
maldehyde disinfecting and vacuum cleaning plants in all 
future new high schools. The High School Committee ad- 
vises the Committee on Supplies that it should not count 
upon appropriations from the Bonus Fund (a state fund 



The Board and Its Committees 99 

supplied for high school betterment) for the purchasing of 
regular supplies for the high schools unless by previous ar- 
rangement with the Committee on High Schools. The 
Supplies Committee asks the Finance Committee to transfer 
the unassigned balances in the salary funds of the several 
bureaus to the account for salaries of district superin- 
tendents' clerks, that it may increase such salaries. Reply 
is made that other departments are equally needy and their 
funds should not be taken from them. The Finance Com- 
mittee asks for certain promotions, and the creation of 
one new position in the Bureau of Audit and Account. The 
Supplies Committee lays the matter on the table, and the 
chairman of the Finance Committee has to appear and 
appeal for action before action is taken. The Russian 
Government invites the city to send an exhibit to the Inter- 
national Industrial Exhibition. The City Superintendent 
recommends that the city shall exhibit under one class 
only — school architecture. The Superintendent of School 
Buildings reports that, in his opinion, an exhibit without the 
school activities conducted in them will be meaningless. 
The committee must decide which report it shall accept; 
but if these two officers had been compelled to talk the 
matter over before reporting on it a single and not a con- 
tradictory report could have been submitted. 

Great delays are caused by the necessity of referring mat- 
ters to other departments of the service, other committees, 
other boards, other bureaus, etc. A long time usually inter- 
venes between the initiation of a matter and its final disposal 
when it must take this course. There is no one to push the 
special report which has been asked for ; thus extraordinary 
matters take much more time than ordinary ones. The calen- 
dars of the various committees are well kept. Items which 
have been referred to other agencies, or on which final 
action has not been taken, reappear on each consecutive 
calendar until they are finally cleared up. This excellent 
custom is not followed by the Board of Education. Mat- 
ters that are referred to its committees sometimes disappear 



ioo Hoiv New York City Administers Its Schools 

from its calendar altogether, and in no case reappear there 
until the committee in charge of them gets a place for them 
by making its report. If the committee chooses to do so, 
it may take no action at all, or take negative action without 
reporting the matter back to the board. 

COMMITTEES SHOULD REPORT ACTION TO THE BOARD 

For example, the several recommendations for action on 
the part of the board which the City Superintendent made 
in his report for 191 o were referred to the appropriate com- 
mittees, and, so far as I can discover, no mention is made 
of them again in the journal of the board for the year. It 
seems to us that it would be much wiser for the board 
to carry all its unfinished business on its calendar until 
it can be finally disposed of; and, also, if the present 
committees are to be retained, for each committee to state 
its needs for information from other committees, and its 
requirements for action on their part, not to them directly, 
but in a report to the Board of Education, which can then 
be referred to them by the board. The committees are cre- 
ations of the board, and are responsible to it but not to 
each other; what they control they control through it, and 
what they do should be done through it. As it is now, the 
responsibility for initiating action is, in large part, left 
to them, and upon them rests the final determination of 
many matters, the deciding of which belongs to the whole 
board, and which is now not even reported to it by the 
committee. This is particularly the case in all matters 
referred to them for consideration and report; but, even 
in the case of matters referred to them with power to act, a 
report stating that action has been taken, and what it is, 
should be submitted by them for the information of their 
fellow-members and the public, and to complete the record 
of the board. Examples of action by committees on mat- 
ters upon which the board itself should have acted might be 
included. The following will suffice to show that the 
method is an unsatisfactory one. 



The Board and Its Committees 101 

Changes are made in the conduct of the schools from time 
to time which involve considerable outlays for supplies not 
provided for in the budget. A preliminary discussion of 
ways and means would seem to be necessary before such 
changes are authorized, or the present under-financed condi- 
tion of the system should be changed. 

A communication from the secretary of the Central Com- 
mittee of Local School Boards of Manhattan stated that, at 
a meeting of said committee, held on October 10, 191 1, 
attention was called to the fact that a closer relation could 
be established between the local school boards and the 
schools if the names of the local school board members 
were better known, and that action was taken requesting 
the Board of Education to take the necessary steps to have 
the names of the members of the local school boards posted 
on the bulletin boards in the schools in their respective dis- 
tricts. It was moved and adopted that the above-mentioned 
committee be informed that the Committee on Elementary 
Schools believes that as each principal has in his or her 
possession a directory containing the names and addresses 
of members of local school boards, which may be consulted 
by teachers and others, further steps in the matter are 
unnecessary. 

February 14, 191 1. — A communication from the City 
Superintendent transmitted a letter from an Associate Su- 
perintendent stating that the Committee on School Man- 
agement of the Board of Superintendents is unanimous in 
the opinion that the by-laws of the Board of Education 
encourage absence and that the deduction of 1/360 of a 
year's pay where a teacher has been absent 1/160 of a 
whole year, and the practice of continuing to pay for serv- 
ices not rendered, are distinct incentives to irregular attend- 
ance; that the charter permits a ratable deduction for 
absence which would mean no service, no pay, with liberal, 
generous refunds where proper; and that the last-named 
committee is unanimous in the opinion that another attempt 
should be made to bring about such a method of payment 



102 How Neiv York City Administers Its Schools 

as will radically cure this absence evil, etc. The Committee 
on By-laws ordered this communication to be noted in its 
minutes and placed on file. The request to be informed 
whether the committee desires the Board of Superintendents 
to prepare amendments to the by-laws in this particular is 
thus disposed of. Under date of January 10, 191 2, it did 
finally submit a resolution, which the board adopted, author- 
izing a deduction for unexcused absence from duty at 
the rate of 1/200 part of the annual salary for each day 
so absent. 

The Committee on School Buildings recommends that the 
duty of inspecting janitors' inventories be transferred to 
the Care of Buildings Committee, and thus let all the re- 
sponsibility for the contents of buildings rest entirely within 
the jurisdiction of the Committee on Care of Buildings. 
Ordered that the Committee on Buildings be advised that 
the Committee on By-laws does not deem it advisable to 
have the matter of verification and approval of inventories 
placed under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Care of 



Buildings. 



DUPLICATION OF WORK 



A considerable duplication of work is involved in this 
committee method of handling business. One committee 
recommends action upon the basis of a report from a mem- 
ber of its staff; this, perhaps, involves another committee, 
in which case it details an inspector from its staff to go over 
the same ground and make a report to it. In some cases 
this is desirable and necessary; in some cases it is not, and 
is done because of the principle of independent authority 
which has grown up. We can but feel if the executive 
staff were regarded as one staff and the general manager 
of the whole undertaking had detailed a man to make a 
report as to a given need, it would not be necessary for 
another department to take the matter up in the same way 
again. 



The Board and Its Committees 103 



THE MOST SERIOUS FAULT 

But the most serious fault of the committee system is 
that it prevents the board from transacting its business as 
a board, upon consideration of it by the whole board ; that 
it substitutes for the initiative of all the members the in- 
itiative of a part of them, and trusts to a minority of the 
body the first-hand determination of its policies and de- 
cisions. The Revised Charter recognized the fact that a 
board of forty-six members is too unwieldy to function in 
this capacity, by directing it to appoint an executive com- 
mittee of fifteen members, who, with the approval of the 
board, should care for the government and management of 
the public school system, such committee to have power, 
when authorized by the board, to perform any of its ad- 
ministrative functions. The charter directs (1063) also 
that all reports of the committees of the board shall be 
presented to the executive committee for its consideration 
and action before being presented to the board, unless other- 
wise ordered by the board. This provision the board has 
found to be an unworkable one, and so has abandoned it. 
The executive committee is appointed at the regular time 
for its appointment. It is called to order regularly at the 
time fixed for its meeting, but as regularly adjourns with- 
out business to transact, save in the months of July and 
August, when the members of the board are absent from 
the city, at which time the executive committee transacts 
the business of the board. This committee, then, cannot 
function as a policy-making body. The Board of Education 
of forty-six members and its fourteen committees consti- 
tute the administrative device which heads the system. This 
arrangement is unsatisfactory, and, while it might be im- 
proved by a re-defining of the functions of the board and 
of its committees, there is imperative need for a school 
board which is small enough to be its own executive com- 
mittee, and to provide a unified and energetic administra- 
tion for the schools. 



104 Hozv New York City Administers Its Schools 



THE EDUCATIONAL DIRECTOR SHOULD HAVE MORE POWER 

The maintenance of every large corporate undertaking, 
whether public or private, in the last analysis rests upon the 
administrative staff which the board employs. The board 
itself can do very little more than advise with its depart- 
ment heads, make a general policy for them to follow and 
arrange, and systematize their work and the law which 
governs it, so that they may have a clear and determinate 
responsibility, freedom in which to function, and such help 
as may be needed. Neither the charter nor the by-laws of 
the board define the functions of the City Superintendent 
of Schools in such a way as to give him an authority at all 
commensurate with his de facto responsibility. One searches 
in vain through their provisions for anything like an ade- 
quate definition of his functions. He is so restricted and 
bound down by the necessity of consulting members of the 
board of examiners, heads of independent bureaus, mem- 
bers of the Board of Education, and officers of the depart- 
ments of the city government that, strictly speaking, he has 
no authority whatever to guide and direct the schools. 
When school buildings are to be built, they are to be build- 
ings for schools; yet the Superintendent of Schools has 
little organic relation to the bureau which builds them. It 
is everywhere acknowledged that New York has been more 
successful, perhaps, than any other city in building school 
houses ; but her success is due to the splendid personnel of 
her building staff, and to the fact that this division has 
worked in the closest and most intimate way with the 
Superintendent of Schools, and not to any provision of 
the laws or the by-laws which makes necessary such a re- 
lation between the essential parts of one whole. 

Just so there is no sufficient organic relation between 
the Bureau of Supplies and the Superintendent's office. The 
supplies are furnished for educational reasons and must 
meet educational requirements. The system must be one 
and not two at this point. The method by which supplies 



The Board and Its Committees 105 

are furnished, the quality and quantity of the supplies which 
are furnished, and the promptitude with which they are 
furnished are all educational questions as well as matters 
of the economy of the Supply Bureau. 

The proper organization of reports and statistical in- 
formation, too, is an educational interest, as well as an 
accounting interest. Much confusion has arisen from the 
too complete separation of these functions which are or- 
ganic parts of one undertaking. Since that undertaking in 
all its parts is educational, it should be organized to serve 
that one purpose. It cannot be so organized until the edu- 
cational direction shall guide the work of all the other 
divisions. The Superintendent of Schools must be the gen- 
eral manager and resident director of the entire system. 
This does not mean that he should do what is now done by 
other bureaus, but only that he should be given sufficient 
authority to make the coordinations which are now made un- 
officially, or not at all in the system. Building operations, 
supply operations, and accounting operations must still be 
carried on as before, but hitches should be eliminated, dupli- 
cating made unnecessary, advice and counsel given when 
needed, and unity and cooperation of effort maintained by 
some one with authority who is on the ground all the time. 
The present necessity of referring such interdepartmental 
matters to different committees of the Board of Education 
is not a method of settling them; but, since each depart- 
ment is regulated by its own committee, which naturally 
is more familiar with its own work (and more interested 
in it) than with that of any other committee, it is a method 
of keeping the several bureaus unrelated and apart. There 
are no conferences of bureau chiefs, for no one person has 
the authority and the duty to call such conferences. Yet the 
department heads recognize the necessity of talking their 
work over together and devising means and ways of re- 
lating and integrating it. A general manager is indis- 
pensable to every cooperative undertaking. The qualifica- 
tion of the man needed in each case is determined by the 



106 Hoiv New York City Administers Its Schools 

character of the undertaking; for railroading a railroad ex- 
pert, for banking a banker, and for education an educational 
expert. It is futile to say that no one man has the equip- 
ment for such a post, or that the task is too large for any one 
person; that this is too much authority to give to any one 
person. One man guides the executive department of the 
entire national government. The education of the entire 
state is directed by a single commissioner of education. 
And in Europe the educational affairs of whole nations are 
intrusted to a single minister of education. Education, too, 
has produced men of the first order, whose capacity for 
service as superintendents of schools and presidents of 
universities has abundantly proven that educators may have 
as high administrative ability as the leaders of other callings. 
The records of the nation do not show that administrative 
talent is a monopoly of the business man; and a busi- 
ness man as general manager of the largest school system 
in the United States would certainly not be the educational 
leader which the work demands. 

THE FUNCTIONS OF THE SUPERINTENDENT INADEQUATELY 

DEFINED 

One hunts in vain through the laws and by-laws for such 
a recognition of the functions of the Superintendent of 
Schools. He has a seat on the board, but no vote ; he re- 
ports on the needs and conditions of the schools, he inspects 
them, and encourages teachers and pupils; he prescribes 
blank forms for reports; he makes an annual report; is 
chairman of the Board of Superintendents ; holds confer- 
ences, assigns superintendents to duty subject to the by-laws 
of the board, is chairman of the Board of Examiners, 
nominates members of this board, enforces compulsory edu- 
cation, is a member of the Board of Retirement and of the 
Permanent Census Board, and appoints and dismisses mem- 
bers of the clerical force in his office, subject to confirma- 
tion by the Board of Education. 

Is this a sufficient statement of the powers and functions 



The Board and Its Committees 107 

of the office which must in the nature of the case direct the 
educational work of the largest city in the nation? What 
may the Superintendent on his own authority do? Just 
two things: he may determine the time, the subjects, 
and the lowest passing mark of the examinations, and 
after candidates have passed them he may renew their 
licenses or cut them off if their work is unsatisfactory. 
Yet this is the office which is logically the directive one in 
the system, the office which is held responsible by the people 
for the welfare of the schools, and the office which must 
bear the brunt of the criticism which is leveled against the 
system. The Superintendent of Schools of New York City 
should exercise a power commensurate with his office. His 
opportunities for educational service should be recognized 
as greater than those of any half dozen university presi- 
dents ; and, in qualification, authority, salary, and all that is 
necessary to make an office adequate to lead the largest edu- 
cational undertaking of the country, his post should be one 
of the highest in the land. He should be the superintendent 
and general manager of the schools, having the advice and 
direction of a small non-political board of education com- 
missioned by the people to do all things needful to secure 
the expert direction of the schools, but, by no means, to 
direct them themselves. 

THE GENERAL MANAGER'S STAFF 

All the officers below the Board of Education should 
belong to the general manager's staff. For the direction 
and guidance of instruction he should nominate for appoint- 
ment by the Board of Education a corps of assistants of 
his own selection, whose duties he should assign and re- 
assign to them as occasion demands. They should be his 
aides and form his cabinet, but the final responsibility for 
recommending the establishment of the schools, the neces- 
sary changes in classes, lists of eligibles for appointment, the 
assigning of teachers, the rules for the promotion of pupils, 



io8 Hoiv Nezv York City Administers Its Schools 

the course of study, and all other technical matters, should 
rest upon the Superintendent. This responsibility should 
not be committed, as it is at present, to a board of nine men 
not selected by the educational head of the schools, of which 
the City Superintendent is but one without more authority 
than the others on the board, which decides the educational 
direction of the system by a majority vote of its members. 
This administrative device seems to be only one further 
expression of the bureaucratic tendency of the school ad- 
ministration of New York City. The principle which seems 
to have dictated such an arrangement has already been called 
the method of government by diffusion of responsibility, or 
the principle of never appointing one man to look after a 
responsibility if several can be put in charge of it; and if, 
by any chance, one man must be selected to head a division, 
to see to it that he shall by no means be anything but a 
titular head by appointing a number of associates who shall 
prevent him from exercising more than the nominal func- 
tions of his office. Educational advancement and educa- 
tional security are not to be gotten in this way. A simplifi- 
cation of machinery is necessary. 

THE FUNCTIONS OF THE GENERAL MANAGER 

As general manager the Superintendent of Schools should 
have authority to call together the heads of the several 
administrative bureaus for the clearing of their interbureau 
difficulties and for the discussion of plans for the better- 
ment of the service. It is conceived that no great part of 
his time will be required for the oversight of these capably 
manned divisions. What is wanted is not time for minute 
direction of their affairs, but authority to settle matters of 
procedure and details of action which must now go to the 
board for decision, and to expedite reciprocal obligations; 
to keep matters which must go through several bureaus 
moving as rapidly as possible, and to answer the recurring 
question: " What is best to be done in this case? " 

Such a general manager would keep the Board of Edu- 






The Board and Its Committees 109 

cation up to its duty of looking out for the welfare of the 
entire system, of defending the education law, and enforc- 
ing it, of securing funds enough to run the schools, of 
making plans for the enlargement of the plant, and the in- 
ternal development of the system, and of defining its own 
functions and those of the different members of its staff. 
His duty would be to keep routine work which the officers 
can attend to away from the board, and, at the same time, 
to keep before the board the important questions which it 
must handle for the good of the system. " What is every- 
body's business is nobody's business " is all too thoroughly 
evidenced now in the absence of such a general direction 
of affairs. One person charged with the ordering of busi- 
ness could soon work most of the needed reforms. 



THE BOARD NOT IN CLOSE TOUCH WITH ITS WORK 

The board is not able to keep a constant oversight of its 
own affairs, and when criticism is made of special phases 
of its work it is driven to the expedient of appointing special 
committees of its members to investigate what is being done 
and recommend what should be done. It took this method 
of determining whether its schools were being ventilated, 
a little while ago ; and just recently it has taken this method 
of finding out whether the Board of Examiners is perform- 
ing its duties as it would have it perform them. This of 
itself is a confession of the inadequacy of administrative 
machinery. No special inquiry should have been needed to 
determine whether the schools are properly ventilated, or 
how to ventilate them, for that should be a matter of con- 
stant inquiry. Regular records and repeated reports should 
have kept the board well informed on both points. The 
same is true with regard to the action of the Board of 
Examiners ; the board should itself have known what was 
being done as part of its regularly supplied information 
and should, by establishing its own policy upon the practices 
in question, have prevented any need for a special investi- 



no Hoiv Neiv York City Administers Its Schools 

gation at any time. It is only when the board attempts to 
do more than it can do, or attempts to do it without the 
requisite staff, that such after-the-fact consideration of its 
acts is necessary. 

We do not find the proper separation of functions recog- 
nized in its work. The first-hand making of a course of 
study it seems to regard as its own duty, rather than that of 
the Superintendent. It does not sufficiently support the 
agents whom it itself has commissioned to perform certain 
work. The Superintendent of Schools is as liable to nagging 
or baiting by certain members of the New York City Board 
of Education as if he were in a smaller and less civilized 
community. There is no justification for this whatever. 
The school business should be conducted with dignity and 
consideration. Whatever else a board of education may do, 
or not do, it should not allow itself to lower the general 
regard for the appointed officers of public instruction. Some 
consideration, too, should be paid to methods to be followed 
in introducing such changes as it may desire to bring about 
in the administration of the work under its care. The 
question of function should, at any rate, be settled before 
the attack upon what is being done begins. There is so 
little reason for acrimonious debate in conducting the affairs 
of a school system, and so much of it is indulged in, that 
one of the first duties of a school board is to deliberate 
upon ways and means of eliminating it altogether and then 
to stick to the results of its deliberations. 

Another confusion-breeding result of a disorganized sys- 
tem is that the complaint department is not located in the 
general offices of the Board of Education, but in the office 
of each member who chooses to entertain the complaints 
which may be brought to him. For self -protection most 
undertakings have found it necessary to appoint ways and 
means for the reception and consideration of complaints 
against the corporate service. No large undertaking which 
affects multitudes of people can hope to be free from them, 
but it can keep them from demoralizing its services if it 



The Board and Its Committees 1 1 1 

handles them properly. The city Board of Education has 
a duty in this direction. 

ADMINISTRATION PREVENTED BY TOO MANY LAWS 

It is perhaps incident to a large system of public education 
which has grown up as the New York City school system 
has, that a multiplicity of laws should have been developed 
to control the administrative details of the system, and that 
many of these laws should in time become unworkable, and 
should take away from the administrative body the control 
of the very affairs which it is its duty to direct. In that 
case, not the living intelligence, but the dead hand of the 
past is given control. There seems to be no way of freeing 
the undertaking from being unreasonably bound by outworn 
laws and regulations except to exercise as much care in pro- 
curing the repeal of hindering legislation as in the passing 
of new laws. A codification of the school laws which con- 
trol the Board of Education would reveal a mass of such 
enactments, and would be the first step in eliminating them 
and so freeing the administration to meet present day neces- 
sities. For this, and for other legal services, the Board of 
Education should have its own legal adviser, a salaried 
attorney whose services would be constantly available to 
protect the legal interests of the school department. The 
Corporation Counsel is the legal defender of the municipal 
corporation. The Board of Education is a separate corpora- 
tion and requires a defender of its own. 

The school system of New York City is an inbreeding 
system. There is a fence about it which has been made into 
a wall by the recent action prohibiting the merging of eligible 
lists. This ought, in justice to the children, to be broken 
down. There should be no preferential tariff to keep out 
the best teachers from other places. Instead, the school 
department should keep recruiting agents in the field to se- 
cure the services of the best teachers who are anywhere 
available. Teachers everywhere should know 'that New 



H2 Hozv New York City Administers Its Schools 

York City is constantly searching for the best teachers in 
the entire United States, and the same free trade in appoint- 
ments should apply to the supervisorial and superintending 
staff. And there are not enough outlets to the system. 
Rarely, very rarely, is a teacher discharged; and rarely, 
very rarely, does it happen that a temporary certificate is 
not made into a permanent license. Tenure of office during 
efficiency of service is desirable; but tenure of office which 
becomes permanency without regard to efficiency is good 
neither for teachers nor for their pupils. There is need 
for a readjustment in this particular in the schools of New 
York City. 

MEDICAL EXAMINATION OF SCHOOL CHILDREN 

The Board of Education suffers, as has been pointed out, 
because its work is parceled out to other city departments. 
One further example of this defective form of school ad- 
ministration is found in the medical examination of school 
children. 

The responsibility for conducting the medical examination 
of school children to discover physical defects which inter- 
fere with their progress in education is intrusted to the 
Department of Health. The results of this dismemberment 
are unsatisfactory, as the principle is a bad one. Only 
287,871 out of 603,455 in average attendance were ex- 
amined during the year, and out of 299,184 defects which 
were found only 152,941 were reported as remedied. It 
is now a fairly well-established principle in American public 
school education that the school administration must con- 
trol and direct all the activities which pertain to the work 
of the school. It must control and direct them because 
its work is one, and its parts cannot possibly be fitted 
together and made to cooperate and mutually support each 
other until they are directed to one and the same end by 
the responsible administrator of the schools. 



CHAPTER IX 

REPORTING UPON COST 

npHE Board of Education has been repeatedly urged to 
J- report the cost per unit of its total expenditures for 
education. Those who have been most insistent in this 
demand seemingly have regarded the task as an easy one 
which, at most, would involve the addition of a new de- 
partment, and the collecting and tabulating of a few more 
records than are now kept, instead of a more or less com- 
plete reorganization of the present system of school ad- 
ministration. Elaborate tables of cost, based upon the 
average daily attendance, are kept, and have been kept for 
years. A well-equipped and efficient statistical department 
has been organized, and all the information as to cost, 
based upon the unit of average daily attendance, which 
the most demanding critic can ask for, is available. This 
division is undermanned and its experts are underpaid. 
Appropriations have not been provided to make possible 
the more elaborate statistical studies which have been asked 
for, and the demands for more statistical information have 
become most insistent at the very time that appropriations 
with which to supply it have been withheld. 
^ The request of the City Superintendent for an appropria- 
tion which would enable the board to employ a statistician 
for his office has been denied. But the employment of 
even a number of additional statisticians would not furnish 
the facts. ^ What is needed is much more fundamental 
than that ; it is nothing short of the elaboration of a method 
by studies and investigations running through a series of 
years, which shall be adequate to determine the standard 
units which must be used to measure the results of edu- 

"3 



H4 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

cational activity. It is one thing to compute the cost of 
education quantitatively and quite another thing to com- 
pute its cost qualitatively; but only the latter figures are 
of any real significance, and without them the others would 
be misleading. It is comparatively easy to write a formula 
for scientific school accounting; simply divide the results 
obtained by the cost. But what are the results obtained? 
Until they are exhaustively standardized and reliably re- 
ported, any refinement of cost accounting will furnish only 
delusive figures. There are figures at hand to show the cost 
of cleaning the school houses, but they do not show that 
the school houses are clean. What is much more important 
in this respect is the adoption of up-to-date methods of 
making them sanitary. There are figures which show the 
present cost per pupil in average daily attendance for the 
heating of the buildings; but elaborate and long-continued 
investigations under the direction of a heating expert are 
necessary before the actual conditions of the heating ma- 
chinery and the results obtained will furnish scientific 
standards and accurate cost units of heating. The cost of 
ventilating the schools as they are now ventilated can be 
arrived at; but other means must be employed before they 
are ventilated properly, and it is only the cost of proper 
ventilation which is of directive value. 

The cost of furnishing the schools with the equipment 
necessary to obtain standard results is greatly to be desired ; 
but that depends upon a previous standardizing of educa- 
tional results to be striven for ; and that is a matter which 
concerns the entire educational profession, and is being 
worked out laboriously in well-equipped laboratories and 
in class rooms throughout the world. New York City un- 
doubtedly has not done its share in investigating these 
matters. For one reason or another it has confined itself 
to routine ways and means, and has not been free to employ 
the most scientific ways and means that have been perfected. 
And, because the results obtained in education are different 
in kind from the results sought and obtained in highly 






Reporting upon Cost 115 

organized manufacturing processes, it is manifestly unfair 
to assume that cost accounting in school administration is 
on all fours with cost accounting in business enterprises. 
What must be measured is not the number of dollars spent, 
but the educational results obtained. To save money is not 
the object of the undertaking. From the standpoint of 
dollars only, the greatest immediate saving would be 
brought about by closing the schools altogether. The great- 
est real saving consists in making the best educational in- 
vestment possible. The cost of a given policy must be 
equated with the results of that policy and the accurate 
determination of the results is necessary before the cost 
can be arrived at. 



REAL COST ACCOUNTING OF EDUCATION A SCIENTIFIC 

MATTER 

Real cost accounting in education is, therefore, a much 
more difficult scientific matter than it is in banking, railway, 
or insurance offices. Figures that superficially compare sub- 
ject with subject, class with class, school with school, de- 
partment with department, borough with borough, are more 
apt to be misleading than to be informing unless the dif- 
ferences in conditions which the figures do not disclose are 
kept in mind. Nevertheless, though it is vastly more diffi- 
cult to introduce scientific management into school keeping, 
scientific management must be introduced there. It must, 
however, be done by educators, and must be the scientific 
management of education and not the scientific manage- 
ment of bookkeeping merely. First, and for many years to 
come, attention must be given to standardizing results. 
Meantime all figures as to cost must be interpreted as apply- 
ing to an indefinite something which, without further quali- 
fication, is just as likely to be the absence of education as 
its reality. In other words, all dollar figures are provisional, 
and may report a fact which demands consideration or may 
not. As long as principals and teachers draw different 



n6 Hozv New York City Administers Its Schools 

salary rates according to length and character of experience 
a comparison of the total cost of school with school will 
not be particularly illuminating. 



THE ACCEPTED STANDARD 

To escape the errors which must arise from comparing 
an unknown part with an unknown part, the most truthful 
method of reporting school cost at present is to regard the 
whole system as one school with a known average attend- 
ance, the expense of whose several functions can be readily 
determined. The reason why this is the method regularly 
employed by school departments is because it is the only 
one which gives a true account of conditions. The true 
unit is the whole system. One can hardly keep an accurate 
account of the money he must spend for food for his hand 
or his head, and any calculation which he might make would 
be of but little value. He must, however, if he is careful, 
keep an account of the cost of gloves, of hats, and of 
barbering, for purposes of keeping each item to its proper 
figures. Yet, at the end of the year, it is the total expense 
that really concerns him. Just so for purposes of adminis- 
trative detail trial balances must be made throughout the 
year, and the cost of school must be compared with the 
cost of school, item by item, to keep waste from the system; 
but this belongs to the domestic economy of the department 
and not to its final accounting. If demand is made for all 
these figures they can, of course, be furnished, but they must 
be anatomized before they will have meaning. 

THE PROPER UNIT 

It has been suggested that the proper unit for calculating 
educational expenditures is not the cost per child in aver- 
age daily attendance, but the cost per student hour of in- 
struction. Such a basis of reckoning would enable us to 
determine just what outlay instruction in each subject which 






Reporting upon Cost 117 

is studied necessitates. It would then be possible to say 
the teaching of arithmetic costs New York City just so 
much; the teaching of reading just so much; the teaching 
of music, German, manual training, etc., so much; the 
teaching of first-grade children so much; the teaching of 
eighth-grade children so much, etc. Such a method of re- 
porting the cost of education has been planned, but has not 
as yet been carried out for the simple reason that sufficient 
clerical help was not available for the purpose. Figures can 
be made, but are not now available, which will show the 
cost of instruction in each subject and the cost of instruc- 
tion in each grade. They would have but little immedi- 
ate value ; for courses of study are not, and should not be, 
determined by cost, but rather by the educational value of 
the subjects which find a place in them. Their cost is one 
element in determining their value, but only one. It should 
undoubtedly be worked out and placed beside them so that 
it may help in determining what they are worth. But there 
is grave danger that, if it is not carefully handled, it may 
be used to overthrow, rather than to build up, a rational 
educational procedure. Because they do enter as a factor 
in determining what courses of study should be, the Audi- 
tor's statistical division is planning to make them just as 
soon as his staff can be spared for that work. 

NEED FOR A BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION 

The accurate investigation of the educational value of 
what is attempted and what is accomplished is a more press- 
ing necessity. Special agencies should be created for this 
purpose. The administrative officers in charge of the sys- 
tem are too much occupied with the daily work upon which 
they are engaged to handle this satisfactorily. Occupation 
with administrative details necessitates a trend of interest 
and an absorption in what must be done which does not 
allow freedom for the kind of scientific investigation which 
is required. 



n8 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

On November 8, 191 1, Mr. Alfred Mosely, in addressing 
the Board of Education, made the following recommen- 
dation : "I should like to throw out one suggestion, and 
it is an important one, one relating to a matter in which, 
I think, we in England have been ahead of you for some 
considerable time. ... I refer to a special department of 
inquiry. . . . Unless you are going to see what is being 
done in all parts of the world, unless you have a special 
appropriation — not of a large amount, of quite a modest 
sum — to enable you to send scouts the world over, to 
Europe, or through the United States, to see what is being 
done, you cannot keep yourselves up-to-date. Many of you 
are business men, and I will ask you what would become of 
your business unless you took care to avail yourself of every 
new invention, of every new idea in any other part of the 
world that might be started ? Unless you had your travelers 
and delegates out to get information for you as to all that 
is being done you would fall behind; your business would 
go and you would lose in the race. . . . You cannot afford 
nowadays to be without information from all parts of the 
world as to the forward movements that are being made. 
Now, if I may be allowed to emphasize this point, I think 
it would be well if you were to pass a resolution — either 
now or at some later date — for a special appropriation in 
order that you may send the best minds you can secure in 
this country to other parts of the world to report to you 
all that they see in new methods. I think it would be dis- 
tinctly a gain and add to the efficiency of this Department 
of Education." 

No resolution such as Mr. Mosely urged was introduced 
at that meeting or at any subsequent one. The matter was 
not even referred to a committee for consideration. Yet 
the great interest which the man who made the recom- 
mendation has taken in furthering the cause of education, 
as well as the .evident value of the suggestion itself, de- 
manded consideration for it. 

New York City now spends about $34,000,000 per annum 



Reporting upon Cost 119 

upon public education, in addition to a building fund of 
$12,000,000. It has no Bureau of Standards, no division 
for investigations which would lead to a more careful ap- 
praisal of educational results, and no agency whose specific 
duty it is to gather information and make reports upon im- 
provements which are being introduced in the schools of 
other places. Such an agency should be created to assist 
the superintendents in their work. Its main business should 
be to devise scientific standards with which to measure edu- 
cational results and, by their aid, to determine the value of 
the instruction which is being given. This undertaking is 
large enough to have its own testing " engineer " to help 
the superintendents to standardize the product. The quali- 
fications of such a man are different from those of a super- 
intendent. He is to be a laboratory worker, skilful in de- 
vising experiments which will measure what is being done, 
and skilful also in drawing conclusions of directive value 
from the investigations which he conducts. The superin- 
tendents are not free for this intensive study, phase by 
phase, of the different features of the system. He is to 
have nothing else to do, and is to do a work similar to 
that of a consulting chemist for the department. As a 
necessary part of his duty he should report the results of 
scientific investigations which are being made throughout 
the world, and, without having any administrative responsi- 
bility whatever, he should make himself an authority upon 
ways and means of educational betterment which are being 
introduced in other places. Such a division of appraisal 
and standards should work in connection with the superin- 
tendents, and, with their help, should prepare and furnish 
such knowledge as is anywhere available or can be made 
available for a more scientific determination of school 
results. 

The figures which such a division would furnish seem to 
me to be vastly more important to an undertaking devoted 
to education than elaborate cost tables which play the figure- 
making game through all possible combinations of financial 



120 IIozc New York City Administers Its Schools 

income and outlay. Indeed, scientific management in edu- 
cation must concern itself with the product and the char- 
acter of the work done rather than with the permutations 
which are possible in tabulating and retabulating educa- 
tional expenditures. The Board of Education should, there- 
fore, have its own educational research division. 1 



ONE STATISTICAL DIVISION 

The statistics of all the different bureaus and boards 
should be handled by one statistical division. All statistical 
reports of whatever sort should go to it for tabulation. The 
manufacturing of tables of every description which report 
summaries of conditions should be committed to it. The 
different bureaus should furnish it with the data from which 
tables are to be prepared, but it alone should do the work 
of preparing them. Much confusion occurs, and is bound 
to occur, when each division prepares and makes public its 
own departmental figures for the system. This can be en- 
tirely obviated if one division alone is made responsible 
for the preparation of all statistical reports. High-grade 
statistical service is required to do this work, and a staff 
large enough to do all that there is to be done is needed ; but 
accurate and thoroughly consistent statistical tables come 
only from a thoroughly systematized process of preparing 
them. 

1 See also Professor Elliott's recommendation concerning a "Bureau of 
Investigation and Appraisal." 



CHAPTER X 

THE PRINTED REPORTS AND RECORDS OF 
THE BOARD 

THERE is one persistent source of confusion in the 
statistics which are published by the Board of Educa- 
tion. The fiscal year of the city and the school year of the 
state do not synchronize. The fiscal year begins on Jan- 
uary i, the school year on August i. 

Section 1094 of the charter directs the Board of Edu- 
cation, between the 1st day of August and the 30th day 
of September in each year, " to make and transmit to the 
State Superintendent of Public Instruction for the state 
school year ending on the next preceding 31st day of July 
reports which shall be in such form and shall state such 
facts as the State Superintendent and the school laws of the 
state shall require." 

Section 1095 of tne charter directs that the Board of 
Education, between the 1st day of August and the 30th 
day of November, shall report to the Mayor in writing, 
stating the number of schools under its jurisdiction during 
the year ending on the 31st day of July next preceding, 
the number of teachers, the number of pupils on the register 
in average daily attendance, etc. The Board of Education 
shall also, between the 1st day of January and the 15th 
day of February in each year, make and transmit to the 
Mayor of the City of New York another report bearing 
date the 31st day of December next preceding, stating the 
total amount of money expended for the purposes of public 
education in said city during the year ending on said 31st 
day of December. 

Complying with these requirements of law, the Board 
of Education regularly submits an educational report and 

121 



122 Hozv Neiv York City Administers Its Schools 

2l financial report, the one prepared by the Superintendent 
of Schools covering the period from August i to July 31 
of the following year, and the other prepared by the 
Auditor of the board, from January 1 to December 31. 
Both include financial statistics. A more confusing form 
of reporting could not easily be devised. 

The difficulty might be obviated by the Superintendent 
omitting all references to cost and the expenditure of money 
from his report, and furnishing no figures save those which 
refer to enrollment, attendance, etc. But the trouble is that 
that would not be an educational report in the accepted 
sense. Printed school reports circulate among school officers 
in all parts of the country. One of their chief points of 
value consists in the comparisons of educational cost which 
they offer. The Superintendent's report would lose a large 
part of its value if this feature were omitted from it. On 
the other hand, the statements of cost which the board 
issues must be self-consistent and not contradictory. No 
other feature of the system is so eagerly attacked as dis- 
crepancies in the figures of cost which it publishes. Two 
sets of figures should never be published, for no amount 
of explaining that they are made for different periods will 
obviate confusion. What is the way out of this difficulty? 

Since the fiscal year is fixed and the school year is fixed, 
to make them coterminous is not to be thought of. But 
the report which the Superintendent of Schools must make 
for the State Commissioner of Education might be sub- 
mitted without being printed by the board ; and the elabo- 
rate report which the Superintendent prepares for print 
might cover the school activities for the fiscal year. This 
would require the preparation by his office of a third re- 
port — one for the Commissioner of Education, one for 
the Mayor, both of them statistical and both covering the 
period from August 1 to August 1, and the third one de- 
scriptive and statistical, covering the calendar year. The 
only alternative to this plan for eliminating the confusion 
of two sets of published figures of school cost would be 



The Printed Reports and Records 123 

the elimination of all reference to cost from the printed 
report of the Superintendent of Schools. But, as already 
stated, this robs it of a large part of its value as a school 
document; and the other method commends itself as 
preferable. 

Only three thousand copies of the report of the Superin- 
tendent of Schools are printed. A regular mailing list is 
kept, and they are distributed to the officers of the system 
and to libraries and school authorities throughout the world. 
It is a question whether or not they should be provided for 
each teacher in the system. The cost of doing so would be 
considerable, and perhaps the larger part of them so dis- 
tributed would be wasted. Yet, since they are of value to 
those who would keep themselves informed as to the de- 
velopment of the system, enough copies should be printed 
to furnish a copy to all who have interest enough to ask for 
one. This would, perhaps, necessitate a larger edition, 
which in that case should be provided. 

The official journals of the board are printed and dis- 
tributed as follows : 

MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND THE 
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 

26 District Superintendents 
230 Members of Local School Boards 
46 Members of the Board of Education 
50 Board Room 
3 Building Bureau 
12 City Superintendent 
7 Auditor 
2 Supply Bureau 
6 Secretary's Office 
2 Supervisor of Free Lectures 
100 Miscellaneous list 
300 Held for binding 
216 Surplus 

1,000 



124 How New York City Administers Its Sehools 



MINUTES OF THE COMMITTEE ON BUILDINGS 

46 Members of the Board 

26 District Superintendents 

40 Building Bureau 

7 Deputy Superintendent of School Buildings 

12 Secretary's Office 

7 Auditor 

12 City Superintendent 

50 Held for binding 



200 



MINUTES OF THE COMMITTEE ON ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 

46 Members of the Board 

49 District Superintendents and Local School 
Boards 

9 On file for Committee on Elementary Schools 

4 Secretary's Office 

12 City Superintendent 

1 Auditor 

1 Superintendent of Buildings 

25 Held for binding 

3 Surplus 

A large school system such as this is must rely upon its 
printed records and reports to furnish the members of its 
staff with information concerning matters of common in- 
terest as to the working of the system. The unity of under- 
standing which should be built up depends upon the accessi- 
bility of the means of information concerning the system 
to its different parts. It seems to us that too great economy 
is used in printing the minutes of the Board of Education, 



The Printed Reports and Records 125 

that at least enough copies should be printed to furnish one 
to be put on file in an available place in each school. 

The minutes of the board should supply more information 
than they now do. The more important communications 
should be printed in full. Summary financial reports should 
appear regularly in them. There is no call to expand them 
beyond a few pages ; but some matters of great importance 
do not now find a place in them. Among these are the 
very carefully constructed special reports which executive 
officers of the system are from time to time called upon to 
make. The action of committees upon all matters referred 
to them should also appear in the minutes, to make the 
record of the board upon all matters which have been be- 
fore it complete. The minutes should be printed in larger 
type, and the final resolutions of the board in distinctive 
type; so that one, in going over its records, may see at a 
glance what action has been taken by it without having to 
dig out the passages which report the action of the board. 
The minutes of the board itself, and of all of its commit- 
tees and subordinate boards, should be indexed to date ; and 
the index should not only apply to the minutes of the year, 
but it should be a cumulative index covering the published 
reports and minutes of a period of years, and constantly 
revised and brought up to date by the inclusion of each new 
transaction on which action is taken. The constant making 
of such an index is a task which only an expert can handle. 

The preparation of all reports and minutes for print is 
a Work which should be cared for by an expert. Again, the 
proper filing of the records of the several bureaus of the 
board, after such records are no longer in daily use, requires 
an expert. Though they refer, in part, to different phases 
of the same transactions, each bureau now files its own 
records ; and to follow any single operation from its begin- 
ning to its conclusion necessitates an appeal to several de- 
partments and the help of a great number of clerks. The 
process would be greatly simplified for the members of the 
office staff who must hunt these records for their own pur- 



126 Hozv New York City Administers Its ScJwols 

poses, as well as for the public, if the filing of all records, 
documents, books, etc., were done in one place and were the 
work of a thoroughly trained filing division. 



A DIVISION OF RECORDS NEEDED 

To perfect these three activities of the service, the mechan- 
ical preparation and oversight of all printed records and 
reports, the making and keeping of cumulative indices of 
them, and the filing and supervision of all records after they 
have ceased to be in constant use, I recommend that a divi- 
sion of records be created with a person properly trained 
for such work at its head, and that salaries for such as- 
sistants as may be necessary to carry it on be arranged for. 
The reports of the Board of Education, which supply very 
interesting information concerning its financial, building, 
and supplies departments, its free lecture system, its nautical 
school, etc., do not circulate as widely as they should. To 
get wider publicity for both of its major reports, that of 
the City Superintendent and that of the board itself, it 
seems desirable that they should be printed on thin paper 
and bound together in one volume. At least, a consider- 
able number of copies of the combined report should be 
prepared in this way. They would show the operation then 
of the school department as a whole. The report of the 
board should be printed on time, or more nearly on time, 
than at present. It was due on the 15th day of February 
last year (1912), but not transmitted until March 13th, and 
not printed until much later. To be a vital document it must 
be kept to its dates. One thousand copies of this report 
are printed. 



CHAPTER XI 
HOW ESTIMATES ARE PREPARED 

THE adequate financing of public education is much too 
important a matter to permit impressionism on the 
part of those who prepare the estimates, or the exercise 
of arbitrariness, departmental rivalry, personal whim, or 
anything short of the scientifically investigated necessities 
of the schools to determine the amount of public money 
which must be appropriated to the support of public in- 
struction. We have seen that the communities which are 
foremost in public education in the United States intrust 
the responsibility of determining the amount of money 
needed for school purposes to the school authorities. No 
other method produces satisfactory results, and the expe- 
rience of New York City supports this conclusion. It is a 
defect of the charter that a taxing machinery especially 
applicable to the raising of all the money needed for school 
purposes is not provided in it. The Board of Education 
must utilize the financial system devised for general city 
purposes. To this end it must submit annual estimates of its 
needs to the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, and 
the budget which that board determines upon must then go 
to the Board of Aldermen, where it is subject to still fur- 
ther reduction. The security of the public service demands 
two things : First, that the estimates of the Board of Edu- 
cation shall be scientifically and accurately made, and, 
second, that nothing but the real needs of the educational 
service shall determine the budget made for the schools. 
The application of scientific management to the public 
service is no less insistent that the second requirement be 

127 



128 Hoiv New York City Administers Its Schools 

met than the first one. The public interest is no better 
served by the reckless cutting of estimates than by the 
reckless inflating of them. The responsibility for making 
them must rest upon the body which administers the affairs 
of the schools. It must justify every item in them; but the 
determination of the educational policy of the city must 
rest with it. If the Board of Education is told that the 
total amount of money to be devoted to school purposes 
has been determined before its estimates are considered, 
it is not the citizens who are being served, but the tax- 
payers. The claims of the children of the city demand 
more consideration. Whenever the virtual responsibility 
for making the educational estimates is intrusted to officials 
who are unfamiliar with school routine, unaware of school 
necessities, and unappreciative of school standards, public 
education will inevitably be crippled. 

THE GENERAL LAW CONCERNING SCHOOL FUNDS 

The general law of New York State has sought to safe- 
guard the interests of public education by making it the 
"duty" of the corporate authorities of any incorporated 
village or city in which a union free school shall be estab- 
lished " to raise, from time to time, by tax to be levied 
upon all real and personal property in said city or village 
as by law provided for the defraying of the expenses of 
its municipal government, such sum as the Board of Edu- 
cation established therein shall declare necessary for 
teachers' salaries and the ordinary contingent expenses of 
supporting the schools of said district. The sums so de- 
clared necessary shall be set forth in a detailed statement 
in writing addressed to the corporate authorities by the 
Board of Education, giving the various purposes of an- 
ticipated expenditure, and the amount necessary for each; 
and the said corporate authorities shall have no power to 
withhold the sums so declared to be necessary. . . ." (Sec. 
327, Education Law of 1910. ) We have here the curious 






How Estimates are Prepared 129 

anomaly of boards of education in the smaller districts 
of New York operating under general laws exercising much 
larger power and altogether better provided with funds 
for maintaining the schools under their charge than is the 
Board of Education in the largest and richest city of the 
state or the nation, whose finances are controlled by the 
special law of the charter. Nevertheless, the principle is 
the same; the Board of Education should determine its 
own needs, and the tax-appropriating bodies have a duty 
to make appropriations in keeping with the needs of its 
service. 

THE ELIMINATION OF FRICTION OVER SCHOOL ESTIMATES 

It seems certain that the making and submitting of esti- 
mates for acceptance by finance-controlling bodies will al- 
ways be attended by friction, and a considerable amount 
of bitter and frequently unjustified criticism. The genera- 
tion of a vigorously hostile attitude and hostile treatment 
is just as certainly unnecessary and so greatly to be deplored 
that every condition which fosters it should be removed. 
This can be done chiefly in two ways : By the Board of 
Education using every precaution in its power to make its 
estimates exact and scientific statements of its needs, and 
by the financial authorities relying upon the Board of 
Education alone to furnish these estimates, criticising them 
to the fullest extent when they are submitted, and relying 
upon them only to determine its appropriations. Confu- 
sion is bound to result just as long as estimates prepared 
by two different bodies, the one responsible for the con- 
duct of the schools and the other not responsible for them, 
are submitted. 

THE TWO SCHOOL BUDGETS 

Under the present order of things the Board of Edu- 
cation is required annually to prepare two budgets : The 
tax budget, for general operation and maintenance, and the 



130 Hoiv Nezv York City Administers Its ScJiools 

bond budget, covering contemplated items of capital ex- 
penditure, such as sites, buildings, and equipment. The 
annual tax budget is by law separated into two funds or 
parts, the general school fund, which carries all items 
directly providing for instruction, and the special school 
fund, which provides the conditioning necessities of instruc- 
tion, such as the maintenance and operation of the school 
plant, school supplies, the salaries of administrative officers 
and employees, etc. 



THE ESTIMATES FOR THE GENERAL FUND 

In preparing its estimates for the General Fund, it must 
list both fixed and variable charges. The salary schedules 
it can determine from year to year in advance of its esti- 
mates. The number of class rooms which it will be re- 
quired to open, and the number of teachers which it will 
be required to employ, it cannot compute accurately from 
six to eighteen months in advance. Population changes in 
a somewhat unforeseeable way, but, by taking averages 
of its necessities for a period of past years, it can arrive 
at an approximation of its needs. This element has hitherto 
been more uncertain than it need be hereafter. A method 
for using the figures of past years in approximating it is 
presented in another section of this report. But the greatest 
variable in the whole estimate still remains. Teachers are 
paid according to experience. If none dropped out from 
year to year it would be quite easy to calculate the advance 
in salary to which each member of such a permanent force 
would be entitled during the coming year. Still the rate 
of pay to which the new teachers, who must be added each 
year to take care of additional classes, would be entitled 
could not be exactly foreseen. But the staff is not perma- 
nent. Many withdraw from it each year and their places 
must be filled ■ by new teachers, whose rate of pay will 
most likely be different and cannot be exactly determined 
in advance of their appointment. Moreover, there are dif- 



How Estimates are Prepared 131 

ferences in pay according to position. And in addition to 
these variables, the school department must not merely 
repeat its conditions of the year before, but it must better 
them by reducing the size of classes, increasing its provi- 
sions for special work, etc. It will thus be seen that any 
statement of its need of money for instruction must indeed 
be an estimate, and cannot be an exact forecasting of its 
coming necessities. How is this estimate made? The 
Auditor of the Board of Education has supplied the fol- 
lowing details of the method employed: 

HOW THE ESTIMATES FOR THE GENERAL FUND ARE MADE 

The General School Fund Budget is presented in simple 
form, although it appears complex by reason of its great 
volume and supporting details. Its salient features are as 
follows : 

1. The salaries of the teachers on the pay-roll on May 31 
are tabulated, and their automatic increases are added to 
December 31 of the same year; therefore, as nearly as can 
be ascertained m anticipation, the pay-roll at the commence- 
ment of the next year for those particular teachers is 
defined. There is then added the automatic increment for 
such persons falling due in the fiscal year covered by the 
budget, the cost for the ensuing fiscal year of filling vacan- 
cies existing May 31 is then computed, and, finally, there 
is inserted an item to cover extra compensation for teaching 
boys and mixed classes. All of these items are computed 
by inspection and minute tabulation of each teacher's record, 
and the results are classified by appropriate grouping by 
grades and activity. The cost is practically fixed and not 
subject to variation, and may be considered a first claim 
upon the fund. The only unknown element is the saving 
due to withdrawals from the service and replacements at 
lesser salary, for which adjustment is made from the total 
of the budget. 

2. There is then added, in two parts, an uncertain or 



132 Hoiv Nezv York City Administers Its Schools 

speculative item, namely, the number of teachers estimated 
to be required to care for enlargements between June and 
December preceding the fiscal year, the full annual sala- 
ries of whom must be provided for the fiscal year succeed- 
ing; and the estimated number of teachers required for 
various periods of time to care for enlargements during the 
fiscal year succeeding. These items are estimated by the 
Board of Superintendents. 

SOME IMPROVEMENTS IN METHOD 

It is acknowledged that these last two items are the weak 
spots in the General Fund estimate. Exact foreknowledge 
is impossible in regard to them, but a careful averaging 
of the needs of past years, with a specified margin to pro- 
vide against the possibility that the coming year may bring 
heavier demands than the past has brought, would seem 
to correct these items. Whatever funds are needed for the 
decrease of the size of the classes should be estimated under 
that head. Only by so doing can the responsibility for 
failure to reduce classes to normal limits be fixed. All 
money required for new projects already planned should 
be itemized separately. But the betterment of the service 
should go on from month to month, and not merely from 
year to year. That superintendents and principals may be 
constantly incited to bring about such betterment and to 
be always planning it, there should be a marginal item set 
apart for this use. The size of this fund need not be 
large, but should be large enough to be effective. Lack of 
money forbids unforeseen improvements, and takes away 
the possibility of making such experiments as the better- 
ment of the service requires. Originality should not be 
strangled if growth in effectiveness is expected. It may 
be said that special revenue bonds can be issued at any 
time if there is any great need for them. They will not 
be asked for such advancement of the service as could, in 
the way we are proposing, be secured. A premium must 



How Estimates are Prepared 133 

be put upon the bettering of the schools by expecting it 
and providing for it in advance, not by forbidding school 
officials to think of new departures as utterly impractical 
and not to be thought of from the first. 

THE ESTIMATES FOR THE SPECIAL SCHOOL FUND 

The form of presentation of the Special School Fund is 
regulated by the Comptroller's office, and blanks are pro- 
vided upon which the information which is required must 
be set forth. They do not entirely make possible the sub- 
mitting of the needs of the board, but are used with such 
marginal additions and supplementary statements as are 
required. The Bureau of Buildings determines its require- 
ments by means of local inspections of school buildings and 
equipment. Its method, as outlined by the Superintendent 
of Buildings, is as follows: 

HOW THE REPAIR BUDGET IS MADE 

The repairs and replacements in the buildings are the 
largest item, outside of corporate stock work, with which 
the Committee on Buildings has to deal. It contemplates 
the maintaining in good order and repair all of the school 
buildings, together with their sanitary, heating, electric, and 
furniture equipment. 

Various methods have been in use in determining, not so 
much the items to be included in the budget, as the total 
amount of which the budget should consist. 

When preparing the budget for 19 10 the Superintendent 
of School Buildings presented to the Building Committee a 
report on the subject, which, in effect, was that, while the 
details of what was required for each building would vary, 
yet, treating the matter as a clear business real estate propo- 
sition, the sum total of the repairs and maintenance would 
bear a direct relation to the cost of the property. 

After much inquiry and consultation with real estate 



134 How Nezv York City Administers Its Schools 

experts, this was fixed by the Building Committee at one 
and one-half per cent of the cost — not value — of the 
buildings and their equipment. 

The cost or value of all sites, whether improved or unim- 
proved, was excluded. 

This method of fixing the limit of the sum to be re- 
quested received the approval of the Finance Committee 
and of the Board of Education, and, finally, of the Board 
of Estimate and Apportionment, the 1910 budget being 
granted on that basis. The cost of the property is given 
for purpose of comparison. The budget for 191 2 was pre- 
pared upon this basis. 

While the presentation to the Board of Estimate and 
Apportionment was made in September, and it was discussed 
in October, its preparation was undertaken during May and 
June in order to permit the careful examination and col- 
lating of the many items in sufficient time for consideration 
and approval by the committee prior to its being placed 
before the board. 

An examination is made of each building by the various 
inspectors, who report direct to the Deputy Superintendent 
of School Buildings for each borough. The items thus 
presented are considered by the deputy in charge, together 
with those for work deferred for lack of funds, or that 
have been directed by the Board of Education or its com- 
mittees to be included in the budget, care being taken to 
strike out such items as there is a probability of providing 
for with the funds in hand. 

The totals, however, invariably overrun the limit fixed, 
and these, after consultation with the Superintendent of 
School Buildings, are revised until they are brought within 
the required sum and put in shape for presentation to the 
Committee on Buildings. The result is a budget of items 
that will bear examination. 

Of course, it is possible to refrain from making certain 
needful repairs or to defer them indefinitely, but the school 
plant suffers, and the ultimate expense is far greater than 



How Estimates are Prepared 135 

would have been the case if the work had been done in 
timely season. Deferred repairs mean extra expense when 
the work is finally undertaken. 

The whole matter of preparation is clearly shown in the 
letter of instructions issued to the Deputy Superintendents, 
which, for 19 12, here follows: 

DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENTS' LETTER NO. 667 

New York, April 12, 1912. 
Dear Sir, — You will please proceed at once to pre- 
pare the annual budget for 191 3. The same general 
form as used for 1910, 191 1, and 19 12 budgets is to be 
followed, showing in detail, for each building, the work 
proposed to be done for each of the following items, and 
the estimated cost thereof : 

General Repairs — Repairs 
General Repairs — Sanitary 
General Repairs — Heating and Ventilating 
General Repairs — Electric 
Furniture and repairs of. 
While much work may be deemed desirable you will 
confine yourself to only that which is necessary. 

In addition to this work there is to be added to each 
of the items of repairs, sanitary, heating, electric, and 
furniture, the sum of $20.00, reading : 

" Contingent fund for unforeseen emergency repairs, 
$20.00." This will give $100 for each building for 
emergency repairs, and any work not otherwise spe- 
cifically provided for. 

As the Board of Estimate and Apportionment decided 
in 1909 that the total amount to be allowed should not 
exceed i 1 /* per cent of the valuation of buildings and 
equipment, it will obviate the necessity for revising 
and rewriting the budget for 19 13 if the totals of 
general repairs, and furniture and repairs together, do 
not exceed that percentage. You will, therefore, please 



136 Hoiv Nezv York City Administers Its Schools 

see that the total amount asked for your borough for 
these two accounts does not exceed the following : x 

1 91 1 Valuation i3 / 2% 

Manhattan $63,145,755.08 $947,186.32 

The Bronx 12,507,068.15 187,606.02 

Brooklyn 44,139,509.23 662,092.63 

Queens 12,042,022.38 180,630.33 

Richmond 3,261,120.91 48,916.81 

In order that the manner of preparation of the field 
notes shall be uniform throughout the various boroughs 

1 Through a stenographer's error the "sites" item was included in the cal- 
culation sent to the deputy superintendents of buildings, whereas only the cost 
of buildings and equipment should have been included. As a matter of fact the 
"sites" item was not used, as the tabulation submitted in the printed budget 
of the Board of Education was as follows: 



SPECIAL SCHOOL FUND 1913 (SCHEDULE NO. 12) 

Repairs and Replacements by Contract or Open Order — Details 

Statement showing the Relation of the items for General Repairs and 
Furniture and Repairs of to One and One-half per cent (i3^ %) of the Cost 
of Buildings and Equipment. The excess of the former over the latter is oc- 
casioned by the withholding of sufficient funds for repairs which should have 
been done in 191 2. 





Cost of Buildings 
and Equipment 


One and One- 
half Per Cent 
Cost of Build- 
ings and 
Equipment 


Estimate 1913 




General 
Repairs 


Furniture 

and 
Repairs of 


Total 


Manhattan* . . 
The Bronx* . . 
Brooklyn* . . . 
Queens* .... 
Richmond* . . 


$42,037,021.27 

10,545,852.85 

37.703,073-74 

10,821,972.26 

2,953,830.10 


$630,555.32 
158,187.79 
565,546.11 
162,329.58 
44,3o7-4S 


$634,838.00 

155,474.00 

582,025.00 

166,680.33 

53,460.81 


$138,876.00 
35,903.00 
80,577-63 
15,191.70 

3,664.00 


$773,714.00 

191,377.00 

662,602.63 

181,872.03 

57,124.81 


Totals .... 


$104,061,750.22 


$1,560,926.25 


$1,592,478.14 


$274,212.33 


$1,866,690.47 



* See Annual Financial and Statistical Report of the Board of Education 
for the year 191 1. 

It will be seen that the amount asked for general repairs and furniture and 
repairs of for 19 13 was $305,764.22 in excess of 1^ per cent of the cost of build- 
ings and equipment, this excess being necessary to partly recoup the cut of 
$522,884.18 made by the [Board of Estimate and Apportionment in these two 
items for 191 2. 



How Estimates are Prepared 



137 



the inspectors will use the sheepskin memorandum books 
for their manuscript notes. (Please notify me at once 
of the number required for your borough.) Each book 
is to be properly labeled in the following form: 

1913 BUDGET 

BOROUGH OF MANHATTAN 
REPAIRS 

P. S. I, 2, O, O, O, 

o, o, o, o, o, etc. 



Field Notes 



John Doe, 
Inspector 

District 



Date 



1912 



or one of the other branches of 
work, as for instance, Heating, 
Sanitary, Electric or Furniture. 



All entries in these books must be kept in ink and 
signed by the inspector, and kept in good order ready 
for reference at any time. 

If, for any reason, it be found necessary to change an 
entry once made the words or figures shall be eliminated 
only by drawing a pen through them and making the 
new entry so as not to render the original one illegible. 

Please submit your budget in typewritten form, fur- 
nishing at least six copies of the details (field notes) 
and six copies of a summary, giving the schools, the 
amount asked for for each item, and the grand totals. 
This must be submitted to the Superintendent by Satur- 
day, May 11, 1 91 2. This date is absolute, as ample 
opportunity must be given for examination by the Com- 
mittee on Buildings, the approval of the Board, and 
the subsequent examination by the engineers of the 
Finance Department, and such semi-public bodies as 
may be entitled to such examination. 
Very truly yours, 

(Signed) C. B. J. Snyder, 

Superintendent of School Buildings. 



138 Hoiv Nezv York City Administers Its Schools 

Aside from the major items of maintenance estimated in 
this way, there are several special items for which estimates 
must be provided, such as the following : 

" Pianos and Repairs of." There was no allowance for 
new pianos for the years 191 o, 191 1, 191 2, the sums granted 
being for repairs, tuning, etc. New instruments are re- 
quired to replace those which are worn out, and also for 
kindergarten and other activities. 

" Special Heating and Ventilating Fund." This fund is 
for the purpose of making alterations to the heating and 
ventilating plants in old school buildings to which new addi- 
tions are being erected in order properly to connect up and 
adjust the old and the new plants. This work, prior to 191 1, 
was paid for from Corporate Stock. There was also a 
" Special Electrical Fund " inserted for the same reason. 
Both were disallowed, and difficulty and delay were and 
will be experienced in getting the additions ready for pupils. 

The following were inserted upon the recommendation of 
the Board of Superintendents : 

" Equipment of Special Rooms." Science Rooms. This 
really includes the necessary alterations and changes, to- 
gether with the installation of a demonstration table, with 
its special plumbing as required. 

" Equipment of Gymnasiums." To equip gymnasiums in 
old buildings and provide the apparatus in accordance with 
schedules furnished by the City Superintendent. 

" Equipment of Kindergartens." Really means the inci- 
dental alterations and changes necessary to fit for that use. 

" Equipment of Cooking Rooms." This referred to some 
of the older buildings, where the cooking rooms have two 
gas ranges, together with the necessary sinks and closets, 
and a demonstration table, but without any opportunity for 
individual work by the pupils, facilities for which it was 
desired to install in the schools as given. 

" Equipment of Workshops." Really includes necessary 
alterations and changes, together with closets, lumber racks, 
etc. 



How Estimates are Prepared 139 

" Equipment of Open-air Classes for Anaemic Children." 
The changes to be made in the building to accommodate 
these anaemic classes vary with the conditions. Some will 
require changes in partitions, closets, and windows; the 
construction of awnings, platforms, frames, and the in- 
stallation of desks and chairs, also facilities for cooking, 
together with refrigerators, closets, and receptacles for 
dishes and for dry groceries. 

" Equipment for Ungraded Classes." This item includes 
furniture. Estimated cost of work in these items is always 
based upon that which has been previously expended for 
the same, or similar, work. 

The items " Equipment of Vocational School for Boys," 
and " Equipment of School for the Deaf," and " For the 
Blind Pupils" were included in the 1912 budget; also for 
" Library Bookcases," being the same as those already sup- 
plied for use in the class rooms. 

THE ESTIMATES FOR THE SUPPLIES DIVISION 

The Bureau of Supplies has maintained a practically uni- 
form appropriation for some years. The items of its esti- 
mate are mainly fixed charges. For the year 191 2 it asked 
for the same amount which had been required to carry the 
schools through the year before. It has reduced the allow- 
ance per school to a lower amount, we believe, than is com- 
patible with good educational work. Complaints from 
parents and principals are numerous that the children are 
not receiving enough supplies to carry out the course of 
study. Pupils must purchase many supplies which the board 
is required by law to furnish, and books must be used by the 
children which school authorities do not think are in con- 
dition to use. What is not yet sufficiently fixed for proper 
budgetary purposes is the amount which must be allowed 
for supplies to keep a school in a satisfactory educational 
condition. Careful investigations by the superintending 
staff are needed to furnish the basis for accurate figures 
for this purpose. 



140 Hoiv Neiv York City Administers Its ScJiools 

The supplies required for increased attendance must, of 
course, be estimated by the same methods which should be 
employed to determine the prospective requirements for 
additional classes. Those that are needed for supplemen- 
tary activities should be estimated under that head. The 
office supplies required by the Board of Education are fixed 
charges which are clearly determined by past needs. Accu- 
rate determination of the amount of money actually needed 
for fuel can be made only upon the basis of such a scientific 
study of that subject as we have in that connection recom- 
mended. 

The amounts needed for evening schools, vocational 
schools, the nautical school, free lectures, vacation recreation 
centers, playgrounds, etc., are determined by the scope of 
the activity which it is desired to carry on. The elements 
of cost are estimated upon the experience of past years. 
Janitorial service is practically a fixed charge, the only 
variable element being the number of new classes and of 
supplementary activities for which funds are to be provided. 

SHOULD THE SCHOOL BE USED AS THE UNIT ? 

The Finance Department of the city has asked that the 
annual estimates for 191 2 be prepared on the basis of each 
school as a unit ; but the school is not the unit, the system is, 
and should for purposes of appropriations be studied as one 
school. To provide a sufficient means for checking the 
details of estimates it may be well to submit the aggregate 
payrolls of each school and of each grade in the school; but 
as the uniformities in grades of salary, according to ex- 
perience, belong to the system as a whole, and as the prin- 
cipals and teachers of the different schools are compensated 
at different rates, if their periods of service have been dif- 
ferent, it is quite impossible to compare the cost of the 
schools one by one without furnishing elaborate calculations 
to account for the differences which appear in their totals. 

Again, repairs are not duplicated, and need for them 



How Estimates are Prepared 141 

differs, annually, with the age and character of the buildings. 
What is done in one school need hardly be repeated there 
the next year. The number of rooms which must be used 
in each school is not the same from year to year, and 
human foresight cannot anticipate the needs of each in this 
regard. Correspondingly different is the need for janitorial 
service. Different methods of heating and conditions of 
machinery require differing quantities of fuel. And such 
differences as should obtain in interpreting the course of 
study, and in methods of teaching, require variations in 
the total cost of supplies among the schools. 

HOW THE ESTIMATES SHOULD BE MADE 

All estimates should accordingly be based upon the aver- 
age cost of maintaining the department for a period of years. 
The figures for each division of the service should be accom- 
panied by a formula to show how they are arrived at. Pro- 
posed enlargements and additions to the service should be 
considered by themselves; and, in the same manner, modi- 
fications in the quality of the service should be justified, 
and unassigned funds should be furnished for the better- 
ment of the service, and to provide a margin for unforeseen 
necessities, such as new ordinances and new laws involve. 
An example of the difficulty in which the Board of Educa- 
tion sometimes finds itself, because of the lack of such a 
margin to meet necessities quite out of its control, was the 
action of the Board of Health last year in passing an ordi- 
nance requiring that sanitary drinking cups be provided by 
a certain date under penalty of fine or imprisonment, or 
both. No money was available for this purpose. The 
board had to request an issue of Special Revenue Bonds, 
and, while awaiting its coming, had to ask the Board of 
Health for a special dispensation of time to permit it to 
comply with the ordinance. 



142 How New York City Administers Its Schools 



THE GENERAL PROCEDURE IN MAKING ESTIMATES 

The general procedure at present in preparing estimates 
is this : The Finance Committee of the board calls upon each 
committee in charge of a division of its work to submit to it 
a statement of its budgetary needs for the coming year. 
The committee, in turn, directs its executive officer to pre- 
pare such a statement of the needs of his division for its 
approval. When this statement is presented to the com- 
mittee, it is examined, revised, and approved, and then sent 
to the Finance Committee of the board. This committee 
passes upon all such requests for funds, and submits them 
to the Auditor of the board for criticisms and correction. 
It directs him to confer with the responsible committee con- 
cerning any items about which there is question, and either 
finally approves or disapproves of their insertion in the 
budget when he makes his report. The estimates are then 
put into final shape and submitted to the Board of Education 
to be adopted and sent by it to the Board of Estimate and 
Apportionment, accompanied by such supporting and ex- 
planatory information as it may direct. It is evident that 
it is the intention of the board and of its officers to furnish 
any information and to comply with directions as to form 
of arrangement, statistical tabulations, or other particulars 
that the Board of Estimate and Apportionment may issue. 

THE CORPORATE STOCK BUDGET FOR SITES 

The Finance Committee of the Board of Education makes 
each committee of the board responsible for preparing a 
statement in detail of the financial needs and requirements 
of its activity or branch of the school system. The Sites 
Committee accordingly prepares the first draft of its esti- 
mated need for corporate stock. Requests have been com- 
ing to it throughout the year from local school boards, 
civic associations, private individuals, etc., that sites be 
acquired in specified localities. The committee investigates 



How Estimates are Prepared 143 

the merits of these requests, and, in conjunction with the 
Board of Superintendents, the High School Committee in 
the case of sites for high schools, and the Building Com- 
mittee, it works out its program of expansion for the com- 
ing year. Its estimates are then sent to the Finance Com- 
mittee for insertion in the estimates of the board. The 
Finance Committee refers them to the Auditor to be checked 
up and put into form, and then examines them, requiring 
such conferences with the committee which originated them 
as it sees fit. It then recommends them to the Board of 
Education for adoption and transmission to the Finance 
Department of the city, where they follow the same course 
as the estimates for new buildings, except that the funds 
for the purchase of sites remain in the control of a Finance 
Committee of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment. 

It is felt that the methods used in the past of arriving 
at the need for sites in definite localities are not sufficiently 
exact, and, to that end, a plan for the gathering of more 
definite data, as indicated in another section of this report, 
is being worked out. It has been suggested that informa- 
tion somewhat as follows should be collected and should ac- 
company each separate case as it comes before the com- 
mittee for action : 

1. School district. 

2. Approximate area of district. 

3. Schools in operation. 

4. Average attendance in the district. 

5. Total of three. 

6. Number of sittings in each school. 

7. Total of five, all schools in district. 

8. Number on part time, each school. 

9. Total of seven, all schools in district. 

10. Vacant sittings each school. 

11. Total of nine, all schools in district. 

12. Population of school age. 

13. Population four to six years of age (future school 
needs). 



144 How Neiv York City Administers Its Schools 

14. Remarks covering such points as replacement of old 
or rented buildings, effect of private or parochial schools 
on situation, etc., etc. ; transportation, etc., between school 
zones. 

THE MAKING OF THE CORPORATE STOCK BUDGET FOR 
BUILDINGS 

Requests are constantly being made by local school boards, 
civic bodies, individuals, and other agencies, proposing either 
a new school or an addition to an old school, at this, that, 
or the other place. These requests are given attention, and 
such action is taken as the situation seems to warrant. The 
following are the steps which are taken in the preparation 
of the Corporate Stock Budget for Buildings : 

1. A communication is received by the board from 
the Finance Department that an application for the issu- 
ance of Corporate Stock should be made promptly, or 
within a given time. 

2. This is referred to the Committee on Buildings, 
which notifies the City Superintendent to submit his 
recommendations as to new buildings for the ensuing 
year. 

3. Just what stages this passes through in the City 
Superintendent's office, or Board of Superintendents, 
we cannot say; but, finally, a copy of the schedule, as 
adopted by the Board of Superintendents, is transmitted 
by the City Superintendent to the Committee on Build- 
ings. These recommendations cover many items, giv- 
ing location, size, and reasons for desiring either a 
new building, or an addition to a present building, at 
any particular locality. 

4. Copies are made (the present one contains about 
60 pages), and sent to each of the members of the 
Committee on Buildings. 

5. After consideration as to the order of importance, 
hearing the City Superintendent and others interested, 



How Estimates are Prepared 145 

as may be deemed necessary, the list is adopted tenta- 
tively, and referred to the Superintendent of School 
.Buildings. 

6. The Superintendent of School Buildings fixes the 
approximate cost for each item, exclusive of sites. The 
first step is to examine and tabulate the list, making 
such readjustment of the number of class-room units 
recommended for each particular item as may be neces- 
sary to obtain the desired economies in construction 
Inus a 49 class-room unit building would be fixed at 
51 ; a 32 as a 36; and a 24 as a 26, for the reason that 
the lesser number of rooms, owing to the lack of 
economy in planning, would cost as much as the greater 
number given. 

This is the result of the Bureau of Buildings having 
worked out several economical types which have become 
standardized. Thus a 36 class-room unit is economical in 
every way, since it provides a 10 class-room unit floor plan 
with toilets, teachers' rooms, and stairways for the 2d *d 
and 4 th floors, while on the 1st floor there are 6 class rooms' 
the space of one being taken up by the front entrance, with 
a principal s, assistant principal's, or teachers' room at either 
side. Ihree class rooms are taken up by the assembly 
room, which projects under the building to that extent. 
1 nere is no waste space at any point. 

7- Examination is then made of the cost of previ- 
ous work of the same type. In doing this there 
is considered the average low bid, it being necessary 
occasionally to eliminate one bid, which, because of 
its being so very much in excess of the next highest 
bid, would seem to indicate carelessness, or that it was 
not a bid based upon a careful examination of the 
plans and specifications. 

8. Examination is made of the conditions surround- 



146 Hoiv New York City Administers Its Schools 

ing the construction of additions to present buildings, 
as they often present problems exceeding in difficulty 
those of a new job. Local conditions are reported upon 
by the deputy superintendents, and such other infor- 
mation is obtained by the Superintendent of Buildings, 
within the limited time at his disposal, as may seem 
necessary to enable him to form definite ideas of what 
can be done and the cost thereof. 

The class-room unit cost is fixed for the several 
standard types for general construction, sanitary work, 
heating and ventilating, electric fixture and furniture, 
the chiefs of the three last-named divisions being con- 
sulted as to special costs. 

9. Estimates are then made, and the total cost of 
each item for each building is divided into two or three 
columns, as, for instance, Corporate Stock required to 
be authorized during 191 1. Estimated issue of Cor- 
porate Stock, as per column 2, required for the follow- 
ing years: To July 1, 1912; to July 1, 1913; to July 1, 
1914, etc. These estimates are then tabulated and 
presented to the Committee on Buildings, which 
afterward, 

10. Upon approval, either presents them to the 
Board of Education for reference to the Committee on 
Finance, or forwards them direct to said Committee, 
whichever may seem desirable in point of time. 

11. The Auditor, acting under the direction of the 
Committee on Finance, checks up the schedule and 
adds to it a statement of Corporate Stock authorized 
or released, etc., etc. ; gives the code number, title of 
improvement, borough, school, amount of Corporate 
Stock authorized, etc. ; Corporate Stock issued ; esti- 
mated issues of Corporate Stock for various years; 
complement disbursements and balances of the excess 
of issues over authorization, etc. 

12. Upon consideration and approval the whole is 
printed in the form of a report for presentation to the 



How Estimates are Prepared 147 

Board of Education (see Document 3, Department of 
Education, 191 1). 

13. Upon consideration and approval, or adoption, 
it is forwarded to the Board of Estimate and 
Apportionment. 

14. Then it is referred to the Comptroller, where it 
is taken up through his Bureau of Investigation and 
Statistics. 

15. Conferences are held between representatives of 
that department and the President of the Board of 
Education, the chairman and members of the Commit- 
tee on Buildings, the Committee on Sites, and the City 
Superintendent. When finally agreed upon it is pre- 
sented to the Board of Estimate and Apportionment. 

16. After consideration and adoption it is forwarded 
to the Board of Aldermen. 

17. After hearings by the Finance Committee of 
that board, it is finally reported back, and, after con- 
sideration and approval, it is forwarded to the Mayor. 

The lapse of time from the first step taken in pre- 
paring the Corporate Stock Budget last year until no- 
tice was received of its approval by the Mayor was 
from February to October 9. 

We have not had time to examine the carefulness with 
which this routine is carried out or the satisfactoriness of 
the results obtained. This might well be the subject of a 
special investigation which should be made at the time when 
the estimates are presented. 



CHAPTER XII 

THE OFFICES OF THE BOARD OF 
EDUCATION 

THE Board of Education has not enough clerical help. Its 
office staff is inadequate. Men and women must work 
overtime, and, even with that, very important work which 
is greatly needed by the board and its officers cannot be kept 
up to date. The minutes of some of the committees are not 
typewritten for some months back. No index has as yet 
been prepared for the minutes of the board or of its com- 
mittees for 191 1. These things are not done because no one 
has been free to do them, and the staff is not a leisurely 
staff, but an overworked one. 

The assistant secretary of the board reports that prac- 
tically no salaries for additional clerks have been allowed 
for five years. The record of office employees allowed for 
three years is as follows : 

1910 1911 1912 

Office of the Secretary 28 28 28 

Office of the Auditor 54 55 60 

Office of the City Superintendent 61 61 61 

Offices of the District Superintendents . 24 24 24 

The Bureau of Supplies 128 130 130 

The Bureau of Buildings 40 41 41 

The Office of Superintendent of Janitors .6 6 6 

Office of the Bureau of Lectures .... 8 8 8 

Totals 349 353 358 

But, though the clerical staff has not been enlarged, the 
volume of school business has increased mightily during this 
period. The new methods of doing business with the Fi- 
nance Department of the city have entailed a heavy burden 

148 



The Offices of the Board 149 

of clerical labor upon the offices of the board. Almost 
daily requests have been made during the past year for 
statistical information for special purposes, the preparation 
of which would require the services of a special staff of 
considerable size, working at nothing else for some months. 
A sample of these extraordinary demands which the board 
is called upon to meet is a letter from the Comptroller of 
the city, under date of April 8, 1912, as follows: 

" I request that you furnish me for use of the Cor- 
porate Stock Budget Committee with statistics show- 
ing by districts, schools, and grades, the number of 
pupils on part time in the elementary day schools of 
the city as per the monthly reports of the principals 
for March, 1912." 

Objection is not made to furnishing such statistical in- 
formation, but to being required to do a greatly increased 
volume of work with a force quite inadequate for its regu- 
lar duties. 

The offices of the Board of Education have become, in 
large part, a place for supplying information to other mu- 
nicipal departments. 

SPECIAL DIFFICULTIES 

The Board of Estimate and Apportionment fixes the 
salary schedule of each of the different offices, and does 
not allow the Board of Education to rearrange its own 
salaries without its consent, or to employ more than the 
specified number of clerks even to meet the emergency 
demands which it, itself, makes upon the educational de- 
partment. From this condition another difficulty arises 
of an even more serious sort. The salaries in the offices 
of the Board of Education are low. Its clerks are well 
trained in its service. Promotions come infrequently. In 
other departments the opportunity is better. Because of 
these facts the offices of the board cannot retain their 



150 How New York City Administers Its Sclwols 



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The Offices of the Board 

Resignations 



151 



Name 


Title 


Bureau 


Salary 


Date 


Thomas Armstrong. . 


Clerk 


Supplies 


$540 


Sept. 15, 11 


Helen M. Bannigan . 


Clerk 


City Supt. 


1,200 


Oct. 31 


, IO 


Alice M. Clark . . . 


S. &T. 


Libraries 


1,050 


Aug. 1 


, IO 


Wm. H. Cushing . . 


Clerk 


Supplies 


300 


April 22 


, 11 


C. Victorine DeBuck . 


Clerk 


Supplies 


900 


Feb. 1 


> 11 


Edward T. Diviny . . 


Clerk 


Supplies 


420 


Aug. 21 


, 11 


Ona M. Finnerty . . 


S. &T. 


Buildings 


600 


Feb. 7 


t IO 


Mae M. Gaffney . . 


Typewriting * 


Buildings 


600 


Oct. 1 


, 10 


Benjamin Gassman 


Clerk 


Supplies 


300 


Jan. 24 


> JI 


Joseph V. Glynn . . 


Clerk 


Supplies 


300 


May 31 


11 


John Guiry 


Clerk 


Supplies 


420 


Nov. 3 


10 


Harry N.Hall . . . 


Inspector of Fuel 


Supplies 


1,300 


Feb. 28 


10 


Theodore Heilbron 


Auto-truck 2 


Supplies 


1,500 


Aug. 1 


10 


Mary A. Horton . . 


Telephone Op. 


Secretary 


75o 


Aug. 31 


10 


Louis Jagendorf . . . 


Clerk 


Buildings 


S40 


Aug. 21 


11 


Julia E. King .... 


Librarian 


Lectures 


900 


Aug. 8 


10 


Rose Lebram .... 


S. &T. 


Dist. Supt. 


600 


Sept. 30 


10 


Hattie Mayers . . . 


S. &T. 


City Supt. 


1,200 


July 18 


10 


Henry McArdle . . . 


Clerk 


Buildings 


300 


May 14 


10 


Guilbert McCarthy . 


Clerk 


Supplies 


300 


Oct. 31 


11 


William P. Mee . . . 


Clerk 


Supplies 


300 


May 16 


11 


Mary M. Mullen. . . 


Clerk 


Secretary 


75o 


Aug. 31 


11 


Joseph Morrow, Jr. . 


Clerk 


Supplies 


300 


Nov. 13 


11 


Seconda H. Porcella . 


Typewriting 3 


Buildings 


75o 


Oct. 1 


10 


Harry Posner .... 


Clerk 


Secretary 


75o 


Oct. 31 


10 


John A. Reagan . . . 


S. &T. 


Supplies 


1,050 


Dec. 13 


11 


John B. Robinson . . 


Deputy Supt. 4 


Buildings 


4,Soo 


Sept. 10 


10 


Eleanor Ryan .... 


S. &T. 


City Supt. 


1,650 


Oct. 31 


10 


Milton C. Schwartz . 


Clerk 


Buildings 


300 


Oct. 1 


11 


Margaret A. Sheeran . 


Telephone Op. 


Secretary 


600 


Sept. 15 


IO 


William Strauss . . . 


Clerk 


City Supt. 


300 


Sept. 7, 


IO 


Mary P. Tiernan . . 


S. &T. 


Buildings 


i,35o 


Aug. 31, 


II 


Mona C. Waldron . . 


S. &T. 


Dist. Supt. 


75o 


Sept. 30, 


IO 


Fred C. Young . . . 


Clerk 


Buildings 


300 


May 24, 


II 



1 Typewriting Copyist. 2 Auto-truck Engineman & Mechanic. 

3 Typewriting and Copyist. 4 Deputy Supt. of Buildings. 

Note: Transfers in 191 2 are given in Appendix D. 



152 Hozv Nezv York City Administers Its Schools 

clerks ; instead, they have become a training school for 
private offices, and for other departments of the city's 
service. Lists of transfers and resignations from the staff 
of the Board of Education in recent months are given on 
pp. 1 50-1 5 1 and appendices C and D. 

Such a wholesale depleting of its staff is bound seri- 
ously to cripple its work; but, as long as it has practically 
no control over its salary schedules, there is nothing for 
it to do but make the most it can of the services of the 
new clerks who must be broken into the work of the old 
ones whom it cannot arrange to keep. The salaries of 
each grade are fixed by the Board of Estimate and Ap- 
portionment, and the Board of Aldermen; and the num- 
ber of positions in each grade is fixed. The unassigned 
balances of each bureau are too insignificant to provide 
emergency help. No transfers can be made from one 
grade to another without the consent and approval of the 
Board of Estimate and Apportionment. This takes away 
all flexibility and possibility of adjustment from the Board 
of Education. It also takes away all possibility of re- 
warding merit for efficiency, save as places of a higher 
grade become vacant. It leads to an uneconomical cramp- 
ing of the system. If a clerk at $750 falls ill and can- 
not return to work for a month or more, it is perhaps 
possible to fill her place temporarily with one who is un- 
familiar with her routine at $600 per year; but, before 
this can be done, application must be made to the Board 
of Estimate and Apportionment to modify the salary 
schedule. This consumes time, and the salary is not avail- 
able until it is readjusted. When the regular incumbent 
returns, it must be readjusted back again by the same tedi- 
ous process. Moreover, no one is assured of the continu- 
ance of his salary at its present rate, for a committee on 
the standardization of salaries in city offices has been at 
work upon this subject for some time. 

The fixing of salaries in the offices of the Board of 
Education by the Board of Aldermen, on the recommen- 



The Offices of the Board 153 

dation of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, has 
been rather an expensive matter for the tax-payers of the 
city. In 1904 the Board of Education requested the Board 
of Aldermen to fix the salaries of certain persons at a 
higher rate than others in the same branch of service were 
receiving. They were fixed as salaries of positions in such 
a way as unwittingly to increase the salaries of all in- 
cumbents occupying similar positions in the service. The 
interested parties did not discover their advantage at once, 
but nearly seven years afterwards suits were brought to 
recover the accrued difference between the rate at which 
they had been paid and the higher rate so fixed; and, no 
legal defense against their claims being possible, the Cor- 
poration Counsel recommended that their claim for arrears 
be paid. The office of the Corporation Counsel reports 
that these valid claims aggregate in all about $100,000. 

A curious sequel to this situation is furnished by the 
following report from the Auditor of the Board of Edu- 
cation, concerning the official responsibility for the pay- 
ment of these claims. The report bears date of April 26, 
1911: 

"... An issue of bonds was requested to pay cer- 
tain judgments against the Board of Education, due 
to the fact that this department was required to con- 
form to Sec. 56 of the charter, and thereby required to 
go to the Board of Aldermen to fix the salaries of two 
persons and the effect of their action was to increase 
and fix the salaries of all other incumbents of similar 
positions who were receiving less than $40 per week. 
Based on this requirement, the Board of Estimate and 
Apportionment and the Board of Aldermen created 
certain liabilities which were never contemplated. This 
department does not feel responsible, for the intention, 
as plainly shown in the original resolution, was to in- 
crease the salaries of two persons. When the issue of 
bonds was requested through the Board of Aldermen 



154 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

to pay these judgments attention was called by that 
body to the fact that Sec. 188, subdivision 7, of the 
charter provides for payment of judgments by the 
Comptroller by Special Revenue Bonds to be issued by 
him ; acting on this information, and realizing the 
separate identity of the Board of Education, I was 
deputed to go to the appropriate bureau in that depart- 
ment, namely, the Bureau of Law and Adjustment. I 
saw its chief, Mr. Hallock. After presenting the facts, 
and consulting with him regarding them, Mr. Hallock 
intimated that the funds over which he had control 
were applicable, in his judgment, only to the payment 
of claims against the corporation, and not to the pay- 
ment of claims against the Board of Education." 

It is evident that the present method of providing clerical 
service for the Board of Education is costly and cumber- 
some; that it prevents the board from controlling its own 
business or building up a permanent staff. It ought to 
be changed. Section 56 of the charter should be revised 
to give the Board of Education authority to fix the salaries 
of its own staff. That will take time, but, meanwhile, its 
appropriations for salary purposes should come to it in 
bulk and the matter of determining the number of persons 
in each grade, if salaries are fixed by position only, and 
not by person, as, indeed, the law seems to demand, should 
be left to it. The matter of transferring its employees from 
one grade to another should be entirely in the hands of 
the educational authorities. More money should be pro- 
vided for salaries in the several offices of the board, and 
the amount of extraneous work that is put upon them 
should be cut down to reasonable limits. 



CHAPTER XIII 
THE ACQUIRING OF SITES 

SECTION 1 07 1 of the charter directs the Board of Edu- 
cation to " make such provision by its by-laws as will 
secure prompt and efficient service for the selection and 
acquisition of sites." The method by which such lands as 
have been selected are to be acquired is outlined in Sec- 
tion 1436 of the charter. The Board of Education must 
select all school sites; the Board of Estimate and Ap- 
portionment conducts all negotiations as to price and 
purchase of them. This is the method which has been 
followed since 1902. Prior to that time the Board of 
Education was responsible for the selection and purchas- 
ing of sites for school purposes. 

ITS DUTY 

The by-laws of the Board of Education charge its Com- 
mittee on Sites with three duties : To consider every recom- 
mendation made by any local school board, or by the 
Committee on High Schools and Training Schools, with 
regard to sites for school buildings or additions thereto; 
to select and recommend to the board the acquisition of 
all sites that may be required for school purposes; and 
to report to the board in January and July of each year 
the condition of all matters relating to sites approved by 
the board which are pending and not completed; it shall 
also report to the Committee on Finance in July of each 
year an estimate of the amount required for the purchase 
and acquisition of sites during the next calendar year. 

i55 



156 How Neiv York City Administers Its Schools 

These by-laws do not put the responsibility for deter- 
mining the need of additional ground for school buildings 
where it belongs. It is the superintendents in their opera- 
tion of the educational work of the schools who first be- 
come aware of the necessity for enlargement of the school 
plant. The local school board may be, or may not be, 
sensitive to these needs; but the reports which come to the 
superintendents of instruction as to the size of classes, as 
to the number on part time, and the distances which chil- 
dren must travel in order to reach a school, keep them 
officially informed on this subject. The cooperation of the 
local school board is valuable, but a better systematizing 
of functions would place this duty upon the superintend- 
ents. In effect it is placed there now, but the superin- 
tendents are not in as close or as constant touch with this 
committee as they should be; and the committee itself is 
not as much concerned in working out a program for the 
necessary enlargement of the work of the entire depart- 
ment through a period of months, as it is in filling in here 
and there, as the need of this or that local school board or 
section becomes acute. That the plan for enlargement 
should be worked out from year to year as a whole, and 
not in a scrappy or piecemeal fashion, needs no argument. 
This cannot be done until the reports of district superin- 
tendents are carefully digested and unified by the super- 
intendents, and presented to the Committee on Sites as the 
basis for its work. 

This committee should be forehanded in making its plans 
for the enlargement of the system. It is not sufficient for 
it to ask the City Superintendent for a statement of the 
needs of the department for the next year at budget time. 
This is a fault due, in part, to insufficient control of funds. 
When needs cannot be met until they have become too acute 
to be postponed any longer, there is little occasion for 
figuring out beforehand just how long it will be before action 
of a preventive sort is inevitable. New York City has been 
planning its school enlargements on the theory that it is 



The Acquiring of Sites 157 

better to take no thought for the morrow. Buildings which 
the Board of Education should have been allowed money 
to build months, even years, ago, are only now under way. 

The necessities of the situation are more keenly felt at 
the operating end than they are at the fiscal end of the 
system. Former committees, desiring to keep ahead of the 
growth of population, selected school sites a bit ahead of 
immediate demands for them. They put them into stock, 
as it were, locating them where it seemed that they would 
be needed, and enabling the city to purchase them at a 
lower figure than they could be had for when the locality 
was crowded with people, as it promised to be shortly. 
In anticipating future needs they sometimes made mistakes, 
and school funds were tied up which could have been used 
to advantage in other quarters. It is the policy of the 
present committee to select no sites save such as are needed 
for immediate construction of buildings. This plan is not 
without drawbacks, but it is the only one that the present 
condition of funds will allow. 

It would seem that the process of selecting a site has 
not until recently been altogether a matter of knowledge, 
but rather a hit-or-miss affair. The people of a locality 
decided that a school was needed in their neighborhood and 
brought the matter to the attention of the committee. It 
asked the City Superintendent for a report and, if he ap- 
proved their request, the committee appointed a subcom- 
mittee of its members, who looked the ground over and 
used their judgment in fixing upon a spot for the school. 
Their report was submitted, and the Board of Education 
transmitted their selection to the Board of Estimate and 
Apportionment, with the recommendation that the site 
selected be purchased. At this point the question of cost 
began to receive attention. The Board of Estimate found 
that a different tract of land in the same section could be 
had for a smaller price. It thereupon recommended that 
the Board of Education reconsider its former action and 
select the site which it recommended for selection. This 



158 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

process is a long one. The securing of ground for a certain 
school in the Borough of Queens was begun on December 
6, 1906, and is not completed yet. Another site in the 
same borough, selected on June 9, 1909, is not yet acquired. 
The whole process as now organized normally requires 
from six months to two years. In almost nine cases out of 
ten the Board of Estimate and Apportionment requests 
the Board of Education to substitute for the site which 
it has selected another one which the Board of Estimate 
and Apportionment recommends to it. Cost is such a large 
element that sites are practically selected twice. This in- 
volves a great waste of time, and forces the question whether 
the selection of a definite site by the Board of Education is 
a necessary step in the process, or merely one which re- 
quires much labor and much time to be spent in vain. Would 
it not be a better arrangement for the Board of Education 
to determine the general locality in which a new school is 
needed, and leave to the Board of Estimate and Apportion- 
ment the whole matter of locating the school to best ad- 
vantage in that locality? The Board of Education would 
then select the locality which needs a school, and the Board 
of Estimate and Apportionment would select and purchase 
the site for it. The answer is no. Such a plan will not 
work. School sites must be determined by educational con- 
sideration, not by the cheapness of the lots which it is pro- 
posed to acquire. The sole purpose in getting them is to 
provide school accommodations where they are needed, and 
when they are needed. The present method does not provide 
them where they are needed nor always when they are 
needed. 



A PROPOSED SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF THE NEED FOR SITES 

In order to determine where new schools are most needed, 
and just where they should be located to be most accessible 
to the children who will use them, the Board of Education, 
on January 10, 191 2, adopted a recommendation of its 



The Acquiring of Sites 159 

Committee on Sites providing for a scientific method of 
locating them. The committee proposes to develop a sys- 
tem for securing complete information concerning the popu- 
lation of the city in relation to present educational pro- 
vision and school needs, and so to devise ways and means 
for eliminating errors of judgment in the faulty choice of 
sites and in the making of inadequate or excessive provision 
for school requirements. It proposes to study the needs of 
the system as a whole, and to work out a constantly avail- 
able and constantly perfecting program for enlargement 
of the school plant. Its work, as it sees it, falls into three 
parts : A general study of the trend of population and loca- 
tions of existing school buildings, to correct and avoid the 
errors of the past, and to provide a continuous program 
of school development. A particular part of this program 
is to be selected each year for presentation in the annual 
bond budget, supported by such statistics as will demonstrate 
clearly its claim for immediate attention. A third appli- 
cation of scientific method to this subject will consist in a 
careful school survey of the locality in which a site is to 
be acquired and a building built, which shall determine 
accurately just what territory it must serve; how far the 
capacity of buildings already in operation extends; where 
the center of the school population which is to be served is ; 
what hindrances from inaccessibility, danger from street 
traffic, noise, and the general character of the community 
impose obstacles to the location of a school house in a 
given block and require it to be placed in another, etc., etc. 
It is proposed to accomplish this important work under 
the direction of the Auditor of the Board of Education, and 
by means of the statistical division under his charge. An 
issue of Special Revenue Bonds of $10,000 has been applied 
for to provide the necessary equipment and material, and 
the special service required for this study of population, and 
the conditions incidental and necessary to the locating of 
school premises. The resolution of the board leaves the 
impression that a special study is to be made now to provide 



160 Hoiv Nezv York City Administers Its Schools 

information which will assist in making the next budget and 
be available for some months to come, and when this is 
once clone the work will, perhaps, be discontinued. The 
agency should, however, be a permanent one, and the study 
of population in relation to school needs should go on all the 
time with the assistance of the Superintendent and the local 
school boards, collecting and furnishing information as to 
the ever varying movement of population in the city; and, 
with the help of the Permanent Census Board, preparing 
detailed surveys of localities for the proper location of 
schools. In no other way can the Board of Education know 
its own needs thoroughly; and, when it once knows them 
in this scientific fashion, it is safe to assume that educa- 
tional requirements, rather than the price of lots, will be 
allowed to determine the location of school premises. 

THE STATEMENT OF NEEDS FOR FOUR YEARS 

In order to arrive at as nearly exact information as 
possible with regard to the probable margin of borrowing 
power of the City of New York during the period of sub- 
way construction, the Board of Estimate and Apportion- 
ment, on November 23, 19 10, requested the several depart- 
ments of the city to submit a statement of their needs for 
corporate stock "during the year beginning July 1, 191 1, 
and as far as possible for the subsequent years to and in- 
cluding the year 191 5, showing the amounts that will be 
required for expenditures during the year 191 1, in pursu- 
ance of authorizations now existing, and showing separately 
the additional amounts that will be required or requested in 
each annually recurring Corporate Stock Budget for the 
years stated, all of such information to be submitted in a 
manner and form prescribed by the Comptroller." Since 
it is manifestly impossible to foresee the needs of the school 
department of New York City in detail for four years, the 
estimates which were furnished were merely rough approxi- 
mations, and by no means final statements of the annual 



The Acquiring of Sites 161 

needs of the board. The Committee on Sites further found 
it inadvisable to give the location of the sites needed prior to 
their actual selection by the Board of Education for the 
reason that information of this character invariably leads 
to rises in price of lands from which selections must be 
made. The Board of Education estimated its needs, there- 
fore, in lump sums: $1,000,000 for 191 1, and the same 
amount for 1912; and $500,000 each year for 1913, 14, 
and 15. 

THE SITUATION IN REGARD TO SITES 

On February 6, 191 1, the Committee on Sites submitted 
the following statement to the Board of Education : 

At the time of the annual organization of the 
Board of Education in February, 1910, the situation 
as respects sites was as follows : 
Sites for new buildings, additions, etc., in process 

of acquisition 8 

Sites for new buildings, additions, etc., selected by 
the Board of Education and awaiting action by 
the Board of Estimate and Apportionment. ... 31 
Sites for new buildings, additions, etc., approved by 
the Committee on Sites and placed in the hands 
of the Comptroller for the purpose of enabling 
him to make arrangements for the acquisition 
thereof prior to formal action by the Board 

of Education 22 

Sites for new buildings, additions, etc., on the com- 
mittee's approved list, awaiting financial ability 32 
Your committee, having decided upon the policy of 
advocating the acquisition only of those sites required 
for immediate use to meet existing requirements, in- 
vestigated the necessity of each of the above-mentioned 
sites, with a view to eliminating from consideration all 
those intended for future growth, etc. This investiga- 



1 62 How Nezv York City Administers Its Schools 

tion showed the necessity for certain sites which had 
been carried on the committee's list, in some cases, for 
years had ceased to exist because of other relief fur- 
nished; in some cases the necessity for the sites was 
problematical and dependent upon future growth, and 
there could be no accurate method of determining when 
the sites would be actually required for school use; in 
many cases it was apparent that the sites would soon 
be needed, but the necessity was not immediate. Your 
committee obtained reports on all these sites from the 
board of superintendents and the local school boards, 
and, after consideration of all the facts adduced, decided 
to abandon all except those sites actually required to re- 
lieve schools with pupils on part time, or where part time 
was imminent. The following shows the result : 
Sites for new buildings acquired since February I, 

19 10 5 

Sites authorized and in process of acquisition (one 

to complete a site partly acquired by purchase, 
and one an interior lot to which it was necessary 
to remove an old school building pending the 

erection of a new building) . 2 

Sites for new buildings and additions, etc., selected 
by the Board of Education and awaiting action 
by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment . . 17 
Site for a new building approved by the Committee 
on Sites and awaiting negotiations by the Comp- 
troller before presentation to the Board of 

Education 1 

In addition to the foregoing the Board of Education, 
on December 14, 1910, surrendered to the commis- 
sioners of the Sinking Fund four sites previously ac- 
quired for school purposes, the necessity for the same 
having ceased to exist through enlarged conditions. 

The committee further reports that there are now 
available 28 sites for new buildings (including the site 
acquired for the Central Supply Depository), and 12 



The Acquiring of Sites 163 

sites for additions, playgrounds, etc. All of these sites 
are required for present use, or will be required in the 
very near future, and funds for the improvements of 
nearly all of them are included in the estimate of the 
Committee on Buildings respecting Corporate Stock 
requirements for the years 191 1 and 1912. 

On January 10, 19 12, the Board of Education reported 
that it had acquired during 191 1 one site for school pur- 
poses in the Borough of Manhattan, and that action was 
pending before the Board of Estimate and Apportionment 
upon the matter of authorizing the acquisition of another 
which had been selected by it on November 22, 191 1. In 
the Bronx one site and part of another have been acquired, 
the purchase of three has been authorized, and action is 
pending upon three which have been selected by the board 
on May 11, 1910, December 13, 191 1, and September 13, 
191 1. In the Borough of Brooklyn six have been acquired. 
One and a part of two others have been authorized; one 
selected on March 9, 19 10, is still pending; and the request 
of the board that one other be acquired has been filed by 
the Board of Estimate and Apportionment for the reason 
that no funds were provided for it in the Corporate Stock 
Budget. In the Borough of Queens three have been ac- 
quired and action is pending upon three selected on June 9, 
1909, May 11, 19 10, and May 10, 191 1. In the Borough 
of Richmond the purchase of one site has been authorized. 

Is the service prompt and efficient in the matter of select- 
ing and acquiring school sites? It is neither prompt nor 
efficient. Prompt and satisfactory it cannot be as long as it 
is out of the control of the Board of Education; and effi- 
cient it cannot be until the Board of Education puts into 
operation the scientific methods which are planned for, de- 
termining the needs of enlargement for the system as a 
whole, and makes the most careful surveys as to the school 
requirements of a locality before it locates a school site in 
it, using all the knowledge which is available in its several 



164 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

offices for the purpose. And, further, the service cannot be 
satisfactory until there are sufficient funds at the disposal 
of the Board of Education to enable it to anticipate its 
necessities before they become so pressing as to require 
thousands of children to attend part time classes. 



CHAPTER XIV 
THE CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS 

THE DUTIES OF THE BUILDING COMMITTEE 

THE Committee on Buildings is composed of nine mem- 
bers of the board and has charge of all matters re- 
lating to the erection, enlargement, alteration, and repairing 
of all school buildings and school premises, the leasing of 
premises or buildings for the purposes of the Department 
of Education, the fitting up and equipping thereof with all 
necessary sanitary, electric, heating, and ventilating work, 
furniture, and pianos. Subject to financial ability and the 
approval of the board, it determines the amount to be ex- 
pended therefor. It directs the activities of the Bureau 
of Buildings. Its executive officer and the head of the 
bureau is the Superintendent of School Buildings. Its pro- 
cedure in the matter of leasing premises for school purposes 
has already been detailed. The steps in the process of 
constructing buildings after Corporate Stock has been ap- 
propriated for the purpose are as follows : 

THE PROCESS BY WHICH BUILDINGS ARE PLANNED 

After consideration and approval of the Corporate Stock 
Budget for Buildings by the Mayor, notice of the fund 
allowed is sent to the Board of Education. Owing to the 
fact that, after requests for Corporate Stock have gone 
through all of the steps roughly outlined in the making 
of estimates, and then been vetoed by previous mayors, it 
is not considered safe to proceed with the preparation of 

165 



1 66 How Neiv York City Administers Its Schools 

plans and specifications until notice of the Mayor's approval 
has been received. 

1. When approved the building budget is referred to the 
Committee on Buildings. 

2. It is then referred to the Superintendent of School 
Buildings to proceed with the work. 

3. The Superintendent of School Buildings takes up the 
list in the order given, and, after authority is given to pre- 
pare plans and specifications, or advertise for bids, proceeds 
to obtain surveys. 

4. He obtains recommendations from the City Superin- 
tendent for each building in order, as to apportionment of 
rooms for boys and girls; grades, number of class rooms, 
kindergartens, anaemic classes, assembly rooms, roof play- 
grounds, and such other features as he may desire to recom- 
mend, which are submitted to the Committee on Buildings 
for approval. 

5. Examination is made of the site, and the question 
of exposure, location, grades, encroachments, and many 
other similar questions are determined. 

6. He then directs the chief of the draughting division 
to proceed on the lines indicated. 

7. He determines the type of the building and the design. 
The Board of Education calls on the Commissioners of the 
Sinking Fund to have the site cleared of all buildings and 
encumbrances, and to turn the property over to the Board 
of Education on a given date. 

8. He passes upon sketches and, when they are satis- 
factory, he forwards them to the Art Commission for pre- 
liminary approval. 

9. The plans and specifications are then developed, and 
the various sets are filed with 

10. The Committee on Buildings, 

11. The Board of Education, 

12. The Art. Commission for final approval, 

13. The Borough Building Department, 

14. The Highway Department, 



The Construction of Buildings 167 

15. The Department of Water Supply, Gas, and Elec- 
tricity, 

16. The Finance Department, which requires copies of 
the printed specifications and all plans and details complete. 

After consideration by the engineers of that department, 
it is presented 

17. To the Board of Estimate and Apportionment for 
approval. 

Upon receipt of notice of this 

18. Specifications and form of advertisement are sent for 
approval to the Corporation Counsel. 

19. Upon receipt, the approval is filed with the super* 
visor of the City Record. 

20. An advertisement for bids appears in the City Record 
for ten days. 

21. At the expiration of this period bids are opened by 
the Superintendent of School Buildings. 

Many steps must be taken in the preparation of plans and 
specifications which are not herein scheduled; but, from 
the beginning of item 1 to the date of letting the contract, 
it is not so much the number of steps which hinder and 
delay action, although these are far too numerous, as it 
is the element of human equation which enters with each 
reference of plans to another official body for approval. 

THE NUMBER OF PLANS PREPARED DURING 12 MONTHS 

In answer to our question as to number and size of 
school buildings, together with the contract or estimated 
cost thereof for which the plans were prepared in the 
last twelve months, the list on the following page was 
submitted. 

This means that the above schedule, or its equivalent, 
covers a year's work for the force of architectural draughts- 
men at present employed on Corporate Stock work. Almost 
desperate efforts have been made to obtain an increase in 
their number, but without success. 



1 68 Hozv New York City Administers Its Schools 



Item 



School 



P. S. 61 

Bush wick High School . . . 
Thomas Hunter Hall (Exc.) . 
Thomas Hunter Hall (Bldg.) 
P. S. 20 (Excavation) . . . 
P. S. 20 (Bldg. Addn.) . . . 

P. S. 92 

P. S. 43, Addition 

P. S. 39, Addition 

P. S. 45, Addition 

P. S. 78, Addition 

P. S. 132, Addition . . . . 
Training Quarters 

P. S. 173 

P. S. 174 

P. S. 72, Addition 

P. S. 115 (Excavation) . . . 
P. S. 50 (Excavation) . . . . 
P. S. 28 

P. S. 175 

P. S. 50 (Building) 

Bay Ridge High School 

P. S. 97 (Portables) . . . . 



Borough 



Manhattan 

Brooklyn 

Manhattan ] 

Manhattan] 

The Bronx ] 

The Bronx J 

Queens 

The Bronx 

The Bronx 

The Bronx 

Manhattan 

Manhattan 

Brooklyn 

Brooklyn 

Brooklyn 

Manhattan 

Manhattan 

The Bronx 

Brooklyn 

Brooklyn 

The Bronx 

Brooklyn 

Brooklyn 



Contract or 
Estimated Cost 



$316,000 


420,000 


500,000 


77,000 


182,000 


98,500 


222,000 


294,000 


192,000 


174,000 


67,045 


274,000 


274,000 


3 5, 000 


87,000 


48,143 


1 75,000 2 


274,000 2 


246,000 2 


400,000 2 


3,000! 



$4,358,688 



1 Authorization prior to Corporate Stock Budget of 191 1. 

2 Completed as far as advance work is concerned. These last are here 
given Item numbers, being the order in which they appeared on the list as 
adopted. 



STEPS IN THE LETTING OF CONTRACTS 

22. Bids are now opened by the Superintendent of School 
Buildings. This is done in accordance with subdivision 1, 
section 30, of the by-laws, the chairman of the Committee 
on Buildings almost invariably being present, so that, after 
consideration of the lowest bid and comparison with the 
estimated cost, award can be made at once on behalf of the 



The Construction of Buildings 169 

Committee on Buildings, which later confirms his action. 
This prompt award is made to head off the withdrawal of 
bids, which formerly, at times, caused much confusion and 
delay. 

23. The estimated cost is made in the draughting division 
in great detail. It is marked on the specifications, approved 
by the chief of the draughting division, and filed with the 
printing clerk before the plans and specifications are sent 
to the Finance Department for approval. This approval is 
quite a formidable thing, consisting, as it does, of reports 
and recitals by the assistant engineers of the Finance De- 
partment, and approving of the estimated cost. The words 
" estimated " or " approximate " being interpreted by the 
Finance Department to mean the sum fixed or less — but 
not a dollar more. This causes trouble and delay; if the 
lowest bid exceeds the estimated cost, although the funds 
are in hand, yet the Board of Education must explain the 
matter and ask for a reconsideration and approval. 

The Superintendent of School Buildings has nothing 
further to do with the awards of bids from the time of 
reporting the list of those received to the Committee on 
Buildings up to the date he receives notice from the secre- 
tary of the approval of the contract by the Comptroller. 

The various steps in that process are recorded in a book 
kept in the secretary's office, which is ruled for the follow- 
ing information: Acc't, contractor, school, borough, work, 
amount of contract awarded, bid transmitted to Comp- 
troller, sureties approved by Comptroller, sureties, notice of 
approval of sureties received, signed by chairman, signed by 
contractor, bond attached, sent to Auditor, returned by Audi- 
tor, sent to Comptroller, approved by Comptroller, notice 
received from Comptroller, sent to contractor, remarks. 



THE INSPECTION OF WORK UNDER CONSTRUCTION 

Upon receipt of notice from the secretary of approval 
by the Comptroller notice is sent to the deputy superin- 



170 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

tendents, who act under instructions contained in Deputy 
Superintendents' letter, as follows : 

Gentlemen, — Permit me to draw your attention to 
paragraph (L) of the contract form under which we are 
now operating, which reads as follows: 

" (L) The contractor will begin the work hereby 
agreed to be performed on such date as the superin- 
tendent shall notify him to begin. The time hereinafter 
fixed for the completion of the work shall begin to run 
on and from the date so notified. The place where the 
work is to be begun will either be stated in said notice 
or designated on the ground by the engineer or inspector. 
The commencement of the work by the contractor shall 
be deemed and taken to be a waiver of notice on his 
part." 

It is only exceptional cases where we experience any 
difficulty, inasmuch as contractors nearly always com- 
mence work prior to the approval of the contract, and 
thus waive notices as to time and place of beginning 
of work. 

The only safe way, however, is to notify them to 
begin, designating the particular point where the work 
shall start, and then, if no progress is made, we are in 
a position to cancel the contract. 

I am afraid that if we have a case where through 
lack of progress it is deemed desirable to cancel a con- 
tract, and it is done without notice having been given 
as to time and place of beginning, or work having 
been voluntarily started, all as provided for in para- 
graph (L) as above, the courts will hold the Board of 
Education for damages. 

Very truly yours, 

(Signed) C. B. J. Snyder, 

Superintendent of School Buildings. 



The Construction of Buildings 171 

\ This notice is given in accordance with the provisions of 
Clause (L) of the contract form. 

The rights of the department as to inspection are par- 
ticularly covered by specific clauses in the contract. 

Clause B — Interpretation of words " Superintendent of 
School Buildings." 

Clause C — Definition of " approved," " required," etc. 

Clause D — The satisfaction of the Superintendent and 
the Committee on Buildings. 

Clause J — Condemnation of work and materials. 

Clause LL — Time of performance. 

Clause N — Supervision of Superintendent of School 
Buildings. 

Clause O — Superintendent of School Buildings to decide. 

Clause P — Partial payments not acceptable. 

Clause Q — Default of contractor — See certification of 
Superintendent as to unwarranted delay, and power of 
Superintendent to enter when safety and proper construc- 
tion is endangered. 

Clause W — Certificates. 

Clause ZZ — Estoppel. 

This is important, and must be read in relation to the 
Rules and Regulations, Building Bureau, Edition seven, 
April, 191 1. These rules, based upon experience, have been 
prepared, from time to time, by the Superintendent of School 
Buildings. 

The policy of the city is to assign an inspector to the 
work just as soon as there is anything requiring super- 
vision. On new work this does not take place usually 
until the contractor is ready to put in footings. At 
times, however, it must be done earlier, as where there 
is underpinning of adjacent property to be done or an 
excavation which may endanger adjoining property or 
the streets. 

Delivery of plans, specifications, and details are made 
to the deputy superintendents and to the inspectors. 



172 Hozv New York City Administers Its Schools 

Inspectors stationed on a building are men appointed 
from the civil service list of inspectors of masonry and 
carpentry ; they have charge of all work except that of 
heating and ventilating, electric, sanitary, and furniture. 

These last four branches, being particular trades of 
which a mason and carpenter would have no technical 
knowledge, owing to trade union limitations and juris- 
diction, are covered by inspectors of the particular 
branch involved. 

With several buildings under construction, there 
arises the necessity for knowing that the inspectors are 
at their posts of duty; that questions beyond their 
ability are promptly cared for; and that a reliable 
means is provided for the transmission of instructions 
from the deputy superintendents to the contractors and 
the inspectors. This is provided for by the appointment 
of general inspectors, who are a superior type of men 
and have greater responsibilities. 

Inspectors are provided with special books for the 
making of daily reports. The original (A'i) is mailed 
to the main office; the yellow sheet (A3) to the bor- 
ough office; and the tissue sheet (A2) is kept in the 
book for reference. 

A daily-weekly mechanics form (B) is provided, so 
as to supply an accurate, systematic means of counting 
the men employed and reporting them in uniform order. 

A progress sheet (C) is made up for each week, copy 
being retained at the building. 

Reports of the general inspectors are provided for 
on form " A " at the building, and by form " D " at 
the office. 

When exceptions are taken as to work or material, 
notice thereof is sent to contractor by the record clerk. 
These exceptions are entered in a record book, together 
with their final disposition. 

Payments are made as the work progresses, the con- 
tractor using a regular blank form of application. These 



The Construction of Buildings 173 

are time stamped when received at the office and entered 
in a book kept for that purpose, giving the necessary 
data as to dates, name, amounts, to whom referred, and 
date sent back — approved or disapproved. 

If approved, a voucher is issued by the Superintend- 
ent of School Buildings, and forwarded to the Auditor, 
who, after recording same, sends it to the Finance De- 
partment. Examination is also made by its engineers, 
payment passed, and warrant issued to the contractor 
for the amount of the payment. 

Amendments to the contract are sometimes necessary, 
in which case a regular form is used, to which are 
attached all the papers and drawings relating thereto. 
Upon approval by the Committee on Buildings an 
amendment is signed and receives its serial number. 

Upon final completion (and this means everything to 
the last screw), form F, covering the moneys due, is 
certified to by the deputy superintendent, general in- 
spector (construction), general inspector of painting, 
engineer of iron and steel construction, and, at times, 
the chief of the sanitary division. It must also bear the 
certification of the record division that all exceptions 
have been removed. This must be accompanied by a 
report from the record division as to dates of contract, 
completion, and occupancy, time lost by contractor 
through no fault of his, overtime and reasons therefor 
for the contractor. This is checked up, but is seldom 
in accordance with the facts. 

The Corporation Counsel's office is not at all sure 
that clause (M) of the contract will be sustained by 
the courts, unless the city can show no interference of 
any sort, not only for the Board of Education, but from 
any of the numerous other city departments, or that 
the delay has actually kept the school closed. In other 
words, some tangible damage. 

It has, therefore, become necessary for the Committee 
on Buildings to view an application for an extension 



174 How New York City Administers Its Scliools 

of time from all sides, and, if the school has not been 
interfered with, or the contractor has been interfered 
with, to grant an extension of time. 

Frequently contractors are called before the com- 
mittee to explain delays, and, when the case is beyond 
remedy, the contract is annulled, as provided by clause 
(Q) of the contract. 

This reads very simply, but, in all cases where such 
action becomes necessary, there are moneys owing to 
sub-contractors, material men, and sometimes for labor; 
and, while the law states that liens against contractors 
for the city can only be against the moneys due or to 
grow due, and not against the real property, yet, in 











Gen'l Con- 






Borough 


P. S. 


C. R. 


Sit- 


struction 


Award by 


Award by 


Units 


tings 


Amt. of 


Bldg. Com. 


Bd. of Ed. 










Contract 






Brooklyn . . 


19 


36 


i,37i 


$193,988 


Mar. 21, 10 


Mar. 23, 10 


Brooklyn . . 


165 


39 


1,5°! 


219,447 


Aug. 8, 10 


Aug. 15, 10 


Brooklyn . . 


167 


5i 


2,079 


266,700 


Apr. 4, 10 


Apr. 13, 10 


Manhattan . 


95 


60 


2,537 


353,3oo 


July 5, 10 


July 13, 10 


The Bronx . 


44 


47 


2,037 


235,841 


Dec. 20, 09 


Dec. 22, 09 


The Bronx . 


46 


5i 


1,909 


276,600 


June 8, 10 


June 8, 10 


Queens . . . 


7 


24 


94o 


147,978 


July n, 10 


July 13, 10 


Queens . . . 


58 


24 


1,118 


183,000 


Jan. 10, 10 


Jan. 12, 10 



P. S. 19, Brooklyn — Also included extensive alterations in old building, 

P. S. 165, Brooklyn — Delayed through non-receipt of bids for a part of the 

ers from August 12, 191 1, to February, 191 2, and sheet-metal workers from 

months. Work completed with non-union men. Conditions such that City 

organization ready. 

P. S. 167, Brooklyn — Was occupied in September, 1911, but lockout of 
temporary arrangements had to be made. 

P. S. 95, Manhattan — Would have been ready November 1, 1911, except for 
P. S. 46, The Bronx — First delay was in rock excavation covering the en- 
should have been added. Delays also for lockouts of marble workers and sheet- 
These lockouts affected the entire city, but special appeal was made to the 
work was started, but with incompetent men, finally ending in the forming of 



The Construction of Buildings 



175 



every case after completion by another contractor, suits 
for recovery of damages are brought by the sub-con- 
tractors, etc., of the first man, every effort being made 
to prove arbitrary and unwarranted action by the 
committee. 

With all this and much more before it, the com- 
mittee is forced to exert every effort to get the work 
ahead rather than cancel the contract, even to the point 
of treating with a committee of creditors. 

If the inspector cannot handle the matter it goes to 
the next in authority, the general inspector ; then to the 
Deputy Superintendent ; the Superintendent ; then to the 
Committee on Buildings and the Board of Education. 



Date of 


Date of 


Date of 






Contract 


Approval 


Expiration 


Ready 


Occupied 


May 9, 10 


June 6, 10 


June 3, 11 


Sept. — , 11 


Sept. 11, 11 


Sept. 2, 10 


Sept. 16, 10 


Sept. 14, 11 


Feb. 1, 12 


Feb. 19, 12 


May 9, 10 


June 14, 10 


June 12, 11 


Sept. — , 11 


Sept. 11, 11 


July 29, 10 


Aug. 12, 10 


Jan. 8, 12 


Jan. 8, 12 


Jan. 10, 12 


May 27, 10 


June 13, 10 


July 13, 11 


July — , 11 


Sept. 11, 11 


June 30, 10 


July 19, 10 


July 17, 11 


Apr. 1, 12 


Apr. 8, 12 


Aug. 6, 10 


Aug. 12, 10 


Sept. 13, 11 


Sept. 11, 11 


Sept. 11, 11 


Apr. 13, 10 


Apr. 27, 10 


May 26, 11 


June — , 1 1 


Sept. 11, 11 



which could not be concluded until July and August, 19 11. 
heating work, readvertisement, reapproval, etc. Also lockout of marble work- 
November 4, 1911, to March, 1912. Actual delay for this cause about three 
Superintendent could not be notified far enough in advance to get his new 

marble workers from August 12 held upstairs urinals and baths, for which 

the lockout above referred to. 

tire site, its extent being overlooked in fixing the time limit, to which 90 days 

metal workers, which hit this building very hard. 

bosses to take the men back on the schools. After weeks of negotiations the 

new unions early this year. 



176 Hozv Neiv York City Administers Its Schools 



BUILDINGS COMPLETED 

In addition to all this routine there are so many 
contingent things, precedents, rulings, opinions, outside 
jurisdiction, etc., etc., that it is a marvel how it is 
possible ever to complete a building; but buildings are 
completed as the following schedule will show : 

ORGANIZATION OF THE INSPECTING STAFF 

A part of the Bureau of Buildings is the inspecting ser- 
vice. This has to do not only with examinations as to the 
necessity for repair work, the preparation of specifications 
and the supervision of the work performed thereunder, but 
also constant oversight of all properties used for the pur- 
poses of the Board of Education, which includes not only 
the public school buildings, but also the office buildings, 
leased premises, storehouses, athletic fields, playgrounds, 
ferryboats used for anaemic classes, and vacant sites. 

The force is subdivided into five branches : 

(a) General Repairs. 

(b) Sanitary. 

(c) Furniture. 

(d) Heating and Ventilating. 

(e) Electricity. 

Each division is made up of men who were mechanics 
in the various trades represented, passing to the grade of 
inspector through promotion examination held by the Civil 
Service Commission. The inspection districts include from 
two to four local school board districts, following the same 
boundaries whenever possible. 

In the average number of buildings hereinafter given as 
being under the charge of the inspectors, no credit is given 
where there is more than one building on a site, while, as 
a matter of fact, there are numerous such instances, from 
Public Schools 37 and 51, Manhattan, each with its two 



The Construction of Buildings 177 

distinct buildings, to Erasmus Hall High School, Brooklyn, 
with its seven separate structures. Neither is credit given 
for the playgrounds, ferryboats, and vacant sites. Further, 
no credit is given for the inspection of work on new schools 
and additions under erection in any inspection district to 
which a sanitary, furniture, heating, or electrical inspector 
may be assigned. Most of this work varies, is widely 
separated, and it would not, therefore, be economical to 
employ inspectors for this Corporate Stock work alone, 
owing to the time which would be lost in travel. 

The apportionment of inspectors used in presentation 
of budget for 1912 is as follows: 

Borough of Manhattan 

Number of school premises — 228 

General Repairs — 
1 General inspector 
1 Assistant 
7 Inspectors, averaging 33 buildings each. 

Sanitary — 

1 Chief of Division, all boroughs 
1 Assistant, assigned to Brooklyn 
4 Inspectors, averaging 57 buildings each. 

Furniture — 

1 Chief of Division, all boroughs 

4 Inspectors, averaging 57 buildings each. 

Heating and Ventilating — 

1 Chief of Division, all boroughs 
1 Assistant chief, all boroughs, principally Cor- 
porate Stock work 
4 Inspectors, averaging 57 buildings each. 
1 Inspector to pipe covering, all boroughs 
1 Inspector to galvanized duct work and crates, 
all boroughs. 



178 Hoiv Nezv York City Administers Its Schools 

Electrical — 

1 Chief of Division, all boroughs 
1 Assistant, assigned to Brooklyn 
3 Inspectors, averaging 76 buildings each. 

These receive some assistance from the 

mechanics employed. 

Borough of the Bronx 

Number of school premises — 68 
General Repairs — 
1 General inspector 

3 Inspectors, averaging 23 buildings each. 
Sanitary — 

1 Inspector, 68 buildings. 
Furniture — 

1 Inspector, 68 buildings. 
Heating and Ventilating — 

2 Inspectors, 34 buildings each. 
Electrical — 

1 Inspector (covering also upper part of 
Manhattan). 

Borough of Brooklyn 

Number of school premises — 219 
General Repairs — 

1 General inspector 

7 Inspectors, averaging 31 buildings each. 
Sanitary — 

1 Assistant Chief of Division 

4 Inspectors, including one foreman plumber, 

averaging 55 buildings each. 
Furniture — 

Work is handled by the work shop force, to- 
gether with some other assistance, and, not 
being satisfactory, will be changed at an 
early date to suit present conditions. 



The Construction of Buildings 179 

Heating and Ventilating — 

4 Inspectors, averaging 55 buildings each. 
Electrical — 

1 Assistant Chief of Division 

1 Inspector, together with the assistance of the 
work shop. 

Borough of Queens 

Number of school premises — 116 
General Repairs — 

1 General inspector 

4 Inspectors, averaging 29 buildings each. 
Sanitary — 

2 Inspectors, averaging 58 buildings each. 
Furniture — 

1 Inspector, 116 buildings (also receives as- 

sistance from repair inspectors). 
Heating and Ventilating — 

2 Inspectors, averaging 58 buildings each. 
Electrical — 

1 Inspector, 116 buildings 

2 Mechanics. 

Borough of Richmond 
Number of school premises — 44 
General Repairs — 

1 General inspector 

2 Inspectors, averaging 22 buildings each. 
Sanitary — 

1 Inspector, 44 buildings. 
Furniture — 

1 Inspector, 44 buildings. 
Heating and Ventilating — 
1 Inspector, 44 buildings. 
Electrical — 

1 Inspector, 44 buildings (does most of his re- 
pair work). 



i8o How New York City Administers Its Schools 

The Finance Department of the city has expressed the 
opinion that this inspection force should be materially re- 
duced. This resolves itself again into the question whether 
the School Department shall determine its own policy. 
Account must be taken of the increase of liability of the 
city as to accidents and more rapid deterioration of the 
property in the absence of prompt repairs, done under 
efficient supervision. There are seven repair inspectors 
in the Borough of Manhattan; each has about thirty-three 
buildings. A reduction of two men would leave but five 
to handle the repairs in that borough, each with forty-five 
buildings and the safety of some 55,000 pupils under his 
care. The sanitary, furniture, heating, and electrical men 
look after work in their lines of trade, only the repair men 
all else. All of these men are handled by administration 
diagrams. The Bureau of Buildings believes that an in- 
crease in all the branches is demanded rather than a 
decrease. 

THE EFFECT OF REDUCED APPROPRIATIONS 

Answering the question, " What effect upon your work 
has resulted from reductions which the fiscal authorities 
have made in the last two years ? " the Superintendent of 
Buildings says: 

" The net result is the postponement of about one- 
third of the work contemplated for each year. It op- 
erates to disorganize all estimates for the larger repairs. 
Thus, each inspector knows the limit to which he may 
include repairs for his district. He, therefore, naturally 
adjusts some of the items to cover a completed piece 
of work, such as the painting of the interior of a build- 
ing, or putting on a new roof, or alterations in parti- 
tions so as to enlarge or otherwise change class rooms 
or playgrounds, etc., etc. When his budget is cut he 
must readjust his work, and this at once opens the door 
for departure from the original field notes. 



The Construction of Buildings 181 

" If the funds were granted on the iy 2 per cent basis 
of cost, as proposed by the Building Committee, every- 
one could be held to the lists of work originally pre- 
pared. If the Board of Estimate and Apportionment 
decides that this percentage is too great, then it should 
so instruct the Board of Education, stating what it 
will allow, so that the estimates could be made on that 
basis. 

" What the effect of the postponement of repairs to 
a building may be is largely problematical, except that 
certain results are sure to follow defective roofs, leaders, 
water, stair, and gas work." 

The estimate for an increase of the force is made only 
after careful consideration of the needs. One instance may 
be shown by the copy of a letter written to the chairman 
of the Committee on Buildings by the Superintendent, and 
by him sent, with a most earnest endorsement, to the 
Budget Committee of the Board of Estimate and Appor- 
tionment, relative to the employment of a sheet-metal 
worker, copy of which is as follows: 

October 26, 191 1. 
Hon. Frank D. Wilsey, 

Chairman, Committee on Buildings, 
Board of Education. 

Dear Sir, — Our budget for 1912, Schedule No. 15, 
Building Bureau, division of repairs, salaries, provides 
for an "Inspector of Sheet-metal Work at $30 per 
week," a new position. 

I do not recall having directed special attention to 
the urgent necessity for the inclusion of this position 
in the final budget as fixed by the Budget Committee 
of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment. 

In the installation of heating and ventilating plants 
there is a large amount of sheet-metal duct work. The 



1 82 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

fact that these ducts are to provide for the flow of a 
given amount of air per minute necessitates their being 
designed and built to specific dimensions and under 
certain rules as to changes of direction or size. 

This requires a high order of skill on the part of the 
designing engineer, and also on the part of the inspector. 
This work is at present done by one of our best heating 
and ventilating inspectors, who is a technical graduate. 
This man's services, however, are needed for another 
purpose, as will be hereinafter explained, and it is to 
replace him that this inspector of sheet-metal work has 
been included in our budget. 

You will recall, from my various reports and state- 
ments in committee, that we have been unable to do 
any work on the adjustment of dampers in the fresh- 
air supply of hundreds of class rooms, for the reason 
that the man we had w T ho was engaged in the work 
was transferred to another department, and we could 
find no one to take his place. Hence, we are in receipt 
of a great many complaints. 

The adjustment of the dampers to fresh air becomes 
necessary in order to insure an equal distribution of 
fresh-air supply, and thus overcome the tendency of an 
over supply in the branches which take off from the 
main ducts nearest the fan, thus reducing the supply of 
those further along. 

You will also recall the fact that the heating and 
ventilating plants as we are installing them have been 
inspected and approved by Professor Woodbridge, of 
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Pro- 
fessor Carpenter, dean of Mechanical Engineering at 
Cornell University. 

Our practice as to design and installation is similar 
to that followed elsewhere for the same class of work. 

Quite recently the data that have accumulated, through 
years of experiment, both here and abroad, relative to 
fresh-air supply for schools, hospitals, and other build- 



The Construction of Buildings 183 

ings have been questioned, particularly as to the relation 
of humidity to temperature and the contamination of 
air. 

This was focalized by an address of Dr. Luther Hal- 
sey Gulick at the last annual convention of the American 
Institute of Heating and Ventilating Engineers, result- 
ing in the appointing of a committee to consider the 
subject. 

It is admitted that the heating engineers have brought 
the science of their profession to a point where they 
can heat a room of certain construction, exposure, and 
dimensions to a given temperature, at the same time 
maintaining a constant supply of a given amount of 
fresh air, and the standard of purity and of humidity, 
but they are not prepared to investigate how these 
conditions affect the efficiency of the pupils, this being 
a question for the medical profession to answer, on the 
assumption that a pupil does his best work when his 
body is in the best physical condition. 

The Society named as its committee some of its mem- 
bers who are in Boston, and others in New York, one 
of them being myself. 

The importance with which this work is regarded in 
Boston may be evidenced, perhaps, by the fact that was 
taken up by Dr. Arthur T. Cabot, Hon. President 
of the American School Hygiene Association, and Dr. 
Harrington, who has conducted a large amount of 
original research work along similar lines also by ex- 
perts of the Boston Schoolhouse Commission. 

In this city the matter was discussed yesterday after- 
noon at an informal conference consisting of Mr. C. F. 
A. Winslow, the bacteriologist; Dr. Luther Halsey 
Gulick, of the Department of Child Hygiene of the 
Sage Foundation; the American Society of Heating 
and Ventilating Engineers being represented by Mr. 
D. D. Kimball, Mr. Mason, M. B., and myself. 

It was realized that the absence of original re- 



184 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

liable data as affecting the efficiency of the pupils in 
the school would necessitate an enormous amount of 
research, which must also cover a considerable period 
of time, since none of the methods hitherto used in the 
calorimeter, or the tests of mental or physical fatigue 
or reaction, could be used upon a pupil and secure re- 
sults which would be reliable, since none of the tests 
could be conducted without the child becoming aware 
of his being made a special object of an experiment, or 
the interruption of his regular course of school work. 

In other words, observation must be made of a large 
number of children instead of the individual. Just how 
this is to be done is now being worked out by the 
committee, which will have a conference at an early 
date, but, in the meantime, our budget may be closed 
by the Budget Committee of the Board of Estimate 
and Apportionment, and, if this matter is not made 
clear so that the inspector of sheet-metal work is in- 
cluded, so as to release the man at present detailed to 
that work, we will be absolutely unable to take any 
part in this investigation, the scope and importance of 
which has been very faintly outlined by what I have 
herein written. 

What I seek and expect to accomplish is the re- 
duction of temperature, which means a saving of coal. 

The cost of carrying on this research work, as far 
as we are concerned, will be very little more than a part 
of the salary of the inspector, a portion of whose time 
only will be required for adjustments and observations; 
but these, to be of any value, must be regular and ac- 
curate, and free from disturbances and interruptions, 
since they will extend over three or four months. 
Very truly yours, 

(Signed) C. G. J. Snyder, 

Superintendent of School Buildings. 



The Construction of Buildings 185 



COMMENTS OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOL 
BUILDINGS 

The amount of money involved was very small 
compared with the great good that could have been 
accomplished. 

One of the results is that the Special Committee 
on Heating and Ventilating is carrying on its investi- 
gation without the very necessary data which the 
allowance of the man, as explained in the letter, would 
have given. 

The data cannot be obtained anywhere just at pres- 
ent, although both Boston and Chicago have commit- 
tees working on the problem — Chicago for two years 
— which are not ready to report. 

The question is the relation of temperature to 
humidity, or vice versa, so as to obtain the best 
physical and mental results with school children. 

Another instance is shown in the failure to grant 
additional draughtsmen for the Corporate Stock Ac- 
count who were included in our budget, although the 
Finance Department was in full possession of all data 
as to Corporate Stock Budget before the Board of 
Aldermen and the Mayor, and the further fact that 
our force was not much more than half what it was 
when we were busy in 1 907-1908. 

The resolution failed, however, of passage in the 
Board of Aldermen, due, according to the statements 
made by some of the members, to nothing concerning 
the merits thereof. What the next move is to be is 
not at all certain, as the Building Committee has not 
reached a decision, but it is very plain that had these 
eighteen (18) men been allowed in the budget our 
work would not be behind, as it is. 



1 86 Hozv New York City Administers Its Schools 



REPORTS UPON THE CONDITION OF BUILDINGS 

In answer to the question, " What reports upon the con- 
dition of buildings does your bureau keep?" the Superin- 
tendent of Buildings replies : 

This question has been raised many, many times, but 
no one as yet has been able to devise any form or method 
which could be operated at a reasonable cost, or be of 
the slightest use. 

Each deputy superintendent has an intimate personal 
knowledge of the buildings under his charge, and can 
answer at once definitely any question as to needs or 
conditions. This knowledge is supplemented by that of 
the inspectors, who are visiting the building daily. 

One plan proposed was to have a large book in which 
would be entered all of the work and the cost thereof 
against each building. When started it was found that, 
to be of any service, the list of work must be in detail, 
represented during the season by several thousand 
printed pages of specifications, aside from the thou- 
sands of folios of typewritten matter. 

Neither the deputy superintendents nor inspectors 
consulted it, as they knew what had been done, and 
no book could be made to show what relation that bore 
to the building in part or in whole, or what further 
things were needed, or whether proposed work was de- 
sirable or necessary. 

Nothing could be devised to take the place of intimate 
personal knowledge where conditions were changing 
almost daily. 

The need for repairs is clearly shown by the unrevised 
field notes of the inspectors, and what can be done by 
these same notes revised by the deputy superintendents. 

The costs against each building are kept by the Audit- 
ing Bureau, and published in the Annual Financial and 
Statistical Report. 



The Construction of Buildings 187 

Accurate lists of all boilers, engines, etc., are kept, 
together with such memoranda as the chief of the 
Heating and Ventilating Division requires to keep him 
in touch with their condition. 

Thus, when the persons raising the question have 
looked over the situation they have not been able to 
devise a workable economical scheme that would be of 
any real use. 

It would be almost physically impossible to keep 
records showing condition of every thermostat, etc., in 
all our schools for each day. We have records showing 
reported troubles and how they were cared for, from 
which it is fair to assume that no other serious defects 
existed at that time. The general character of the 
equipment is on record in this office on a card system, 
which is kept up to date fairly accurately. 

VENTILATION AND CLEANING 

To the question, "What tests are regularly made con- 
cerning the ventilation of schools ? " it is answered : 

None. We have no adequate or competent staff to 
care for this. Fairly accurate conditions are reported 
by the regular heating and ventilating inspectors, as may 
be needed. Even the one man needed, as outlined in 
the Superintendent's letter to the chairman of the Com- 
mittee on Buildings, would be a great help. There 
should be a competent man and an assistant constantly 
employed on this work, especially setting of dampers, 
etc., etc. 

How many schools have humidifying apparatus? 

At present eight (8) schools have some form of 
humidifying apparatus, six (6) with automatic control, 
with contracts out for eight (8) more. There are also 
some with hand control. We are distinctly in favor 



1 88 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

of these installations, believing them to be necessary, 
and that when final determination is reached as to 
relation of humidity and heat, as hereto set forth, they 
will be very effective, especially in allaying irritation of 
the mucous membrane of the throat and nose. 

In how many schools are air washers provided ? 

One, and another provided for. We wish to install 
others now that there is automatic control of humidity 
with air washing, but the committee is reserving de- 
cision pending results of investigation by the Special 
Committee on Ventilation. 

How many have vacuum cleaning plants? What tests 
have been made of this method? 

None have been installed, although the new high 
schools are piped so that the apparatus can be installed 
just as soon as one can be found that will satisfy the 
requirements. Tests have been made of all the ap- 
paratus presented. 

We require that the manufacturers shall set up their 
machines in two rooms of a building designated by 
us, and that, when they are ready, they shall be tested 
in the presence of our mechanical engineer, electrical 
engineer, and the superintendent of janitors. These 
three men, therefore, cover the three basic elements in 
vacuum cleaning machines. 

We require, further, that they shall not only clean, 
but their operation shall show sufficient saving over 
present methods to defray the costs of operation, oil, 
and electrical current, and, also, of repairs. Deprecia- 
tion should be taken into consideration, and would be 
on a light machine. 

There is no good reason why we should add to ex- 
penses by installing a machine at four thousand to six 
thousand dollars, plus cost of operation, etc., etc. 



The Construction of Buildings 



189 



None of the concerns has yet been able to meet even 
a portion of these conditions. It would be different if 
our floors were carpeted. 

HOW MANY SCHOOL BUILDINGS ARE FIREPROOF? 

There was one in the old City of New York when 
the present Superintendent of School Buildings took 
office. That was erected in about 1867 under the in- 
fluence of Mr. John Stephenson, the coach and car 
builder, who was a ward trustee. 

The present Superintendent included in the buildings 
designed by him after taking office in 1891 a fireproof 
first story paved with asphalt. The Building Law was 
amended in 1894 so that all school buildings thereafter 
erected over thirty-five feet in height had to be made 
fireproof. 

There was none in the territory east of the Bronx 
River, when it was consolidated with the City of New 
York in 1895. None in Queens or Richmond, and only 
one in Brooklyn at the time of consolidation in 1898. 

The records now are : 





Class A 

All 
Fire- 
proof 


Class B 

Part of 

Buildings on 

one Plot 

Fireproof 


Class C 

First 
Story or 
Otherwise 


Class D 
Brick 

Buildings 
with Wood 
Floor Beams 


Class E 

Frame 
Buildings 


Class F 
Buildings on 
one Plot of 
two Kinds of 
Construction 


Manhattan . . . 
The Bronx .... 
Brooklyn .... 

Queens 

Richmond .... 


79 
27 

71 
18 

7 


24 

5 

II 

9 

1 


7 

I 


89 

15 

103 

27 

16 


22 
42 

53 
20 


I 
I 

I 


Totals 


202 


5o 


8 


250 


137 


3 



Is there a uniform code of fire signals in all buildings? 

All buildings, of a size requiring same, have gongs 
of electro-mechanical, electrical, or mechanical construc- 
tion, by means of which the principals may direct rapid 

dismissals. 



190 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

Others have also, in addition, class-room bells and 
telephones, and signal stations placed at various parts 
of the buildings by means of which the need for rapid 
dismissal may be communicated to the principals' offices. 

There is no uniform code of signals, but a suggestion 
as to what the City Superintendent desired was for- 
warded to the principals in General Circular No. 31, 
dated June 12, 191 1. This matter is out of our juris- 
diction, but we concur in suggestions offered. 

What success have you had in keeping stair doors closed, 
as a protection against fire? 

It depends largely upon the principal of the school. 
The Board of Superintendents has charge of the matter. 



HOW THE BUILDING COMMITTEE PURCHASES PIANOS 

The procedure of the Building Committee in purchasing 
new pianos is an interesting example of the method called 
" thorough." It called for bids for furnishing them, and, 
at the time of receiving the bids, it required each bidder to 
furnish a sworn statement showing the average wholesale 
price received by him for instruments of like quality, size, 
and style as those which he proposed to supply, for the 
period of three months prior to the date of his bid. Each 
statement was accompanied by a certificate vouching for 
its accuracy and that the prices were net prices, by a certified 
public accountant. The committee was thus exactly in- 
formed as to the actual trade valuation for the wholesale 
market of each make of piano offered, and this and the 
price bid were taken into account in making the award, as 
well as the musical and wearing qualities of the instruments 
and their reputation in the musical world. 



The Construction of Buildings 191 



SOME CHANGES WHICH WOULD IMPROVE THE WORK OF 
THIS DIVISION 

As to its functions the Committee on Buildings has, from 
time to time, asserted that the by-laws of the Board of 
Education should be changed so as to give that committee 
absolute control over its own clerks, stenographers, etc. 
As it is now, the Committee on Supplies is responsible for 
the clerical staff in the several bureaus. There is, too, a 
lack of unity of action which would be beneficial and 
economical, the Superintendent of Buildings believes, if 
there could be a redistribution of functions which would 
place the responsibility for heating, cleaning, janitors, sup- 
plies, and fuel under one committee on the Care and Heat- 
ing of Buildings. Its executive officer should be a technically 
trained heating and ventilating engineer, and his duties 
should be those of designing and supervising the construc- 
tion and use of the heating and ventilating apparatus in 
the schools, and the necessary repairs to the same, the con- 
trol of janitors, and the supervision of fuel and janitorial 
supplies. The proposed bureau should be separate and dis- 
tinct from the Bureau of Buildings save as the architect 
must approve all plans for new buildings. 

The chief hindrances which hamper this committee in 
its work are insufficient appropriations, the segregation of 
all funds for specific purposes, instead of giving the Board 
of Education the necessary power to control and admin- 
ister them as its internal affairs determine, an inadequate 
architect's staff, and the almost endless formalities which 
must be complied with in the conduct of its business. 



CHAPTER XV 
THE CARE OF BUILDINGS 

FUNCTION OF THE COMMITTEE 

WHEN a building is completed and ready for occu- 
pancy, its custody is turned over to the Care of 
Buildings Committee. This committee, according to the 
by-laws of the board, passes upon all requests for the use 
of school buildings, appoints all janitors, makes rules and 
regulations for their direction, prepares all schedules for 
their salaries, hears all charges made against janitors, and 
prepares an annual statement showing the amount of money 
which will be required for janitors' salaries and for the 
cleaning and disinfecting of school buildings during the 
next calendar year. 

As some 520 janitors, and 135 firemen, cleaners, etc., 
were on December 10, 191 1, employed directly by the Board 
of Education, and as each janitor (save in certain excep- 
tional cases) is a contractor who employs the cleaners whom 
he finds necessary to help him, it will be seen that this com- 
mittee directs an army of men and women who are respon- 
sible for the physical condition of 523 separate organiza- 
tions operating a total of some 650 buildings used for school 
purposes. 

THE DUTIES OF JANITORS 

There are forty-four subdivisions in the by-law which 
prescribes the duties of the janitor, and an additional by-law 
of eight paragraphs more is required to detail the duties 

192 



The Care of Buildings 193 

of firemen who work under them, and of the principal of 
the school who directs them in their work. These duties 
are onerous, for no insurance is carried upon school build- 
ings and the janitor must provide for their safety and 
preservation. He must report in writing to the principal 
and the Superintendent of School Buildings any damage 
which is done to the building; he must notify the Super- 
intendent of School Buildings in writing whenever any 
contractor begins work at the school in his charge; he 
must examine all work being done and report any defects 
of material or workmanship, or any overcharge for time 
and materials, and any failure to comply with specifications 
in such work; he must keep an inventory of all articles of 
furniture in his building and not allow any of it to pass 
out of his hands without a proper written order. He is 
the keeper of the keys of his building. He must sweep all 
rooms, entries, passages, stairways, playgrounds, yards, and 
closets, and dust all furniture and fixtures after the close of 
school each day and before eight o'clock in the morning of 
the next school day. He must scrub the floors at least 
once a month and clean the windows every two months 
or oftener, if necessary. Sanitaries must be washed every 
day. Storerooms and boiler rooms must be kept in order ; 
ashes must be removed ; the temperature of all school rooms 
must not be less than 58 ° Fahrenheit at eight o'clock A. m. 
on school days, and shall be maintained at from 65 ° to 68° 
from nine a. m. until school is dismissed; windows are to 
be opened from seven to eight a. m., and ventilating ap- 
paratus is to be in full and complete operation during the 
school session. Snow is to be removed ; roof playgrounds, 
sidewalks, gutters, yards, and grass plots are to be kept 
clean. All broken glass the janitor is to replace, and small 
repairs to heating apparatus, locks, doors, furniture, etc., he 
is required to make ; all machinery and electrical apparatus 
must be in order. These and a score of other duties are his. 
This service is incalculably important, for it affects the 
health of every human being in the schools. At present it 



194 Hozv New York City Administers Its Schools 

is greatly hindered by a number of conditions, all of which 
are removable and should be removed. 

THIS COMMITTEE SHOULD HAVE A LARGER STAFF 

The committee in charge of this work is greatly over- 
burdened with details which should be attended to by a 
competent staff of expert assistants. Its staff of inspectors 
(four in all) is much too small for the immense territory 
which they must cover. The members of the committee 
must now spend a considerable time in the schools, which 
is manifestly wrong, for they are not paid for that work 
nor appointed to do it. Again, the lobby of this committee 
room is thronged with janitors at each of its weekly meet- 
ings. Discipline is strict, and, whenever a complaint of any 
sort is made, the janitor in question is immediately asked 
to appear before the committee at its next meeting and to 
make an explanation. If this is not satisfactory, he is repri- 
manded, fined, or charges are preferred against him, and he 
is given a formal hearing at which he may appear with coun- 
sel. All of this takes quantities of time, particularly the 
last proceeding, which usually consumes hours and some- 
times even days. The members of the committee give their 
time to this work freely and uncomplainingly, yet it is 
wrong that they should be compelled to do so. Above all, 
they should be free to discuss ways and means for this 
service. All matters of routine should be handled for them 
by paid assistants, to whom they should give counsel, over- 
sight, and supervision. Their business should come before 
them in the form of reports from their subordinates as to 
things done, matters pending, direction sought, appeals 
taken, etc. All complaints could be heard by a committee 
made up for that purpose by the supervisor of janitors, a 
member of the Auditor's staff, and a member of the Superin- 
tendent's staff. The duties of such a committee could be 
prescribed by by-laws, and an appeal from its findings could, 
if need be, be taken to the Care of Buildings Committee 
itself. 



The Care of Buildings 195 



WAYS AND MEANS OF KEEPING THE SCHOOLS CLEAN 

The supervisor's staff should be strengthened. A great 
saving in time and efficiency would thus be possible, for 
the committee of the board would then be free for more 
important things, of which there are a number that demand 
its attention. First among them is the question of ways 
and means of keeping the schools clean. That they are 
kept as clean as can reasonably be expected by the method 
now employed is admitted by those who have examined 
them. But the method itself is the old and unsatisfactory 
one of hand labor, which is rapidly being supplanted by 
more thorough and more hygienic devices. The feather 
duster is still in vogue here. On February 21, 191 1, the 
Medical Society of the County of Kings requested the 
Board of Education to abolish the method of loose dry dust- 
ing of rooms and furniture in the public schools, and to 
devise and enforce proper and definite methods of clean- 
ing and sanitation of school buildings. This communica- 
tion, when presented to the Care of Buildings Committee, 
was ordered filed. But the subject will not down. The 
Board of Health of the City of New York has, within the 
past month, February 26, 1912, repeated this request, but 
without further result as yet. 

Janitors are forbidden to use oil on wooden stairs, class- 
room floors, etc. Instead, to prevent dust, they are directed 
to use oiled sawdust, and they are forbidden to sweep dur- 
ing school hours unless they have the special permission of 
the supervisor of janitors to do so. This rule is enforced 
with such success as it can be. In addition to the daily 
sweeping of all rooms, entries, passages, stairways, play- 
grounds, yards, and closets, the by-laws direct that " at least 
once in each school month janitors shall scrub the floors of 
all entries, passages and stairways, and in all rooms used 
for school purposes, and shall dust the side walls, blinds, 
and cornices," etc. Vacuum cleaning plants have not been 
installed in any of the school buildings of the system. Dust 



196 How New York City Administers Its Sclwols 

is driven from one place to another or kept in motion in the 
air by means of feather dusters, but approved methods of 
removing it altogether are not yet employed. 

Again, school rooms used by scores of children daily, who 
come from homes where all sorts of unhygienic conditions 
prevail, are not systematically disinfected at stated times; 
indeed, they are never disinfected save when contagious dis- 
eases require that the Board of Health shall take that pre- 
caution. No towels of any kind are provided for children. 
In these respects the leading city of the United States is 
much behind most other progressive cities of the country. 
It is indeed somewhat difficult to understand how a com- 
munity which demands the perfection of sanitary detail in 
its hotels and its hospitals should not have found it neces- 
sary for its schools. Inability to secure funds is, in part, 
responsible for this omission, but the general lack of defi- 
nite responsibility and authority on the part of some one 
for these things, coupled with the confusion and absorption 
which attention to an overwhelming mass of details in- 
volves, is the chief cause of it. 



HOW THE WORK OF THE JANITORS IS INSPECTED 

The executive officer of the Care of Buildings Committee 
is the supervisor of janitors, who, with three assistant super- 
visors, visits the school buildings, inspects the work of the 
janitors, and issues such instructions as may be needed. In 
addition, the principal of each school in submitting his 
monthly payroll to the Auditor of the Board of Education 
is required to specify whether the condition of his build- 
ing has been satisfactory or not. This last device provides 
a general report upon the janitor's work, but can hardly 
do more than that. Detailed shortcomings it cannot enter 
into. As the Auditor cannot pay them without this re- 
port, it usually, -in the nature of the case, is " satisfactory," 
which means simply that the janitor has earned his money. 
To keep men up to standard more than this is required. 



The Care of Buildings 197 

An unusually demanding principal may supply it, but prin- 
cipals who are overburdened with other matters will not 
be apt to. Hence, a staff of special inspectors is required. 
Four men, one of whom must be in the office almost all 
the time, is much too small a force to cover a territory as 
large as Greater New York. The staff of inspectors should 
be at least three times as large as it now is in order that 
each building may be visited more frequently, as well as 
that more careful records of conditions may be kept. 
Nothing but the constant presence of the inspector will 
keep conditions up to a high standard. This conclusion 
is abundantly borne out by the reports which the members 
of this committee make at their meetings of conditions 
which they themselves find in the schools. No system of 
records or reports, no matter how elaborately devised, can 
take the place of the vigilant eye of the honest and critical 
overseer. No school for janitors is maintained, and in- 
struction as to how best to perform their work must be 
given by the inspector who visits them. This is an im- 
portant service, and there should be enough inspectors to 
perform it well. 

A SYSTEM OF REPORTS NECESSARY 

There is practically no system of reports upon the physi- 
cal conditions of the schools in the office of the Care of 
Buildings Committee at present. Subdivision 13 of section 
115 of the by-laws of the Board of Education reads: "A 
janitor shall report to the office of the supervisor of jani- 
tors at least once each month the condition of the heating, 
ventilating, electric light and power plants in the building 
under his charge, and sign his name in the register kept for 
that purpose." No such reports are made. Reports as 
to the operation of heating and ventilating plants are not 
required. Temperature records are not kept. The condi- 
tion of furnaces and boilers is not a matter of record. 
Consequently, the use of fuel cannot be standardized, and 



198 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

the scientific management of the affairs of this committee 
is, as yet, out of the question. The present office staff is 
inadequate for such work. What is needed is a thorough 
reorganization of ways and means, and for this the as- 
sistance of expert help will be required. 



UNIFICATION OF DIRECTION NEEDED 

It is difficult to serve a number of masters; a conflict 
of orders is inevitable, and wires which are crossed are 
bound to get tangled and to do much damage. Unity of 
organization is necessary (or, at least, as near an approach 
to unity of organization as can be attained). There are 
five different authorities set over the janitors in the schools : 
(1) the principal of the school, (2) the Care of Build- 
ings Committee, (3) the Supervisor of Janitors and his 
assistants, (4) the Superintendent of School Buildings, 
(5) the Superintendent of School Supplies. 

Under date of January 27, 191 1, the Supervisor of Jani- 
tors reported to the Care of Buildings Committee that 
janitors are often summoned by bureaus of the School De- 
partment other than his own, to appear at times when the 
janitor is required by the by-laws to be on duty in his 
school building unless excused by the Committee on Care 
of Buildings, the principal, or the supervisor of janitors; 
that, in case a janitor was needed in his school on account 
of fire, accident, etc., or to receive supplies, or for any one 
of a number of reasons, the office to which he belongs 
would not know his whereabouts. Hereafter all bureaus 
requiring janitors for any purpose are directed to make 
application to the supervisor of janitors in writing. This 
rule does not, of course, carry itself out, and, with the 
present distribution of authority, it cannot be carried out; 
neither can the janitor be freed from the confusion which 
comes from having many masters, or the inevitable hope- 
lessness due to his inability either to know or to do what 
is required of him. As long as no reports are kept as to 



The Care of Buildings 199 

the condition of the heating plant in a school, and no re- 
ports are kept as to the temperature which has been sup- 
plied to the different class rooms, it is plainly impossible to 
standardize the amount of coal which, with reasonable care, 
should be consumed in keeping the building warm. And, 
as things now are, the janitor who undertakes to do so may 
on one and the same day be called before the Supplies Com- 
mittee to explain why he is using so much coal, and before 
the Care of Buildings Committee to explain why he is not 
keeping his building properly heated. The committee in- 
terested in keeping the coal bills down records against him 
the amount of coal which he uses; the other committee 
keeps a record of his failure to heat his building. Here 
is a conflict of interest which surely should be removed. 
How can it be done? 



REORGANIZATION IN FUNCTIONS REQUIRED 

It is well that the buying should be done by one depart- 
ment, but the standards of quality must be worked out for 
it by the department which uses the commodity. When 
the coal is delivered it should pass into complete control 
of the division which must use it. The Supplies Commit- 
tee should have no jurisdiction whatever over the janitors. 
Its relations to them should be altogether through the 
committee which is responsible for their work. If differ- 
ences arise concerning their receiving supplies, these, too, 
should be referred to the authorities who control them. 

There is no such clear-cut distinction between the work 
of the Committee on Buildings and that of the Committee 
on Care of Buildings in the by-laws of the board as there 
should be. While the Committee on Care of Buildings has 
charge of all matters relating to the care and custody of 
the schools, the Committee on Buildings has charge of all 
repairs, controls the furniture in the buildings, and directs 
the inspectors of ventilation. This cross-classification of 
duties is neither necessary nor advantageous. The work 



200 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

of construction and maintenance is one thing; the opera- 
tion and care of the building and its contents after it is 
ready for occupancy is another. This natural subdivision 
of functions should be established; all responsibility for 
the operation of the building should devolve upon the Care 
of Buildings Committee. It should have complete control, 
subject to the Board of Education, if the present organiza- 
tion is to be maintained, of all which concerns the physical 
operation of the school plant. It should, therefore, have 
as its executive officer a heating and ventilating engineer 
of a very high grade of efficiency who can direct the 
supervisor of janitors and his staff, and the inspectors of 
ventilation. The counsel and advice of the construction 
department should be constantly at his service, but executive 
responsibility for the maintenance of the school plant should 
be entirely transferred from the construction department. 
Originally it was thought that the Building Committee could 
look after the entire field of the construction, maintenance, 
and operation of school buildings. In time it became evi- 
dent that the work involved was too heavy for the Super- 
intendent of Buildings and his staff, and the Building Com- 
mittee gave over a part of its duties to a new committee 
created for the purpose of assuming them. But the divi- 
sion of responsibility which was made was not a logical 
one. The new committee was given too limited a respon- 
sibility for the proper performance of its own work. It 
could not organize its work properly without reorganizing 
that of another department. Hence its inability to take the 
proper initiative, to form an adequate staff, and to devise a 
system of records which would furnish a thorough report 
of conditions in the schools. All these things will be pos- 
sible when the proper redistribution of work is made, but 
not until it is made. 

At present, the janitor's inventories of school furniture 
are in charge of the Building Committee; his conduct of 
the ventilating system is directed by that committee. He 
is directed to make certain small repairs to the heating 



The Care of Buildings 201 

apparatus, locks, doors, furniture, etc.; to replace broken 
glass and sash cords, all of which is under the jurisdiction 
of the Building Committee. He is required, also, " to ex- 
amine all work being done upon the premises in his charge 
and to report immediately to the deputy superintendent of 
school buildings for the borough any observation of de- 
fective materials or bad workmanship, any overcharge for 
time and materials, and any failure to comply with speci- 
fications." All of this he should do under the direction of 
his own superior officer, but to require him to do it for 
an officer who does not otherwise direct him is a hardship. 

Since the Care of Buildings Committee directs the work 
of its own staff of supervisors, there is no unnecessary and 
conflicting distribution of authority between them. The 
janitors who follow their instructions are virtually con- 
trolled by a single agency. Is it possible to systematize their 
control still further and to eliminate the principal of the 
school from any authority over them ? We think not, and 
anyone who has a thorough knowledge of school routine 
will agree to this. The principal of the school is, and must 
be, the commander of the station ; whatever is done in his 
building must be immediately under his direction. If the 
doors are not open on time, or the rooms in the building are 
not warmed or ventilated, he must be able to give the orders 
necessary to put them into condition. The lives of the 
children are in his charge. Their comfort and their health 
are subject to his guardianship. He is, and must be, the 
resident manager of the plant. The principal is not an ex- 
pert in machinery. He is there to direct the getting of 
certain conditions, not to prescribe in detail the steps which 
must be taken to get them. Whatever goes wrong in his 
building is a matter of immediate concern to him, and must 
be reported to him. No other arrangement will enable him 
to keep school. 

There is no conflict of authority inherent in this plan of 
organization if it is properly carried out. The object for 
which buildings are built and janitors hired is to make 



202 Hozv New York City Administers Its Schools 

school keeping possible and to provide all things that are 
necessary for it. The committee which cares for the build- 
ings and its staff, if it does its work properly, will first 
inform itself thoroughly as to what these conditions are 
and will consult the educational directors upon all doubt- 
ful points, and will carry out the policy which it establishes. 
Whatever regulations are prescribed, or orders printed, or 
directions given for the guidance of janitors will be intended 
to accomplish the very results which the careful principal 
will require. If such directions are carefully formulated the 
principal will have no occasion to enter into conflict with 
them or with any action which they direct. There will, of 
course, be the misunderstandings which attach to all human 
relationships, but where the functions of all concerned have 
been carefully systematized in this way, such occasions for 
misunderstanding will have been reduced to a minimum. 
It is an established principle of educational administration 
that the principal shall have sufficient authority over all who 
work upon the premises to safeguard the well-being of his 
school. Since he is under the direction of the district super- 
intendent, all who are responsible to him should be subject 
to this officer's inspection. 

Into the question whether the " direct " or " indirect " 
method of employing janitors' assistants should be used, it 
is not the function of this report to go, save as the question 
affects the educational efficiency of the schools. Which 
method may be the more advantageous from the standpoint 
of dollars and cents others must determine. There are at 
least three features of the direct method which menace edu- 
cational efficiency. First, it enables politicians to organize 
a political machine of large dimensions inside the school 
department, and, for this reason, it is very greatly to be 
feared. Second, the supervision of such a staff of janitors 
and cleaners must, of necessity, become a much more diffi- 
cult matter than it now is, when the principal of the school 
relies upon one man and such helpers as he employs and 
directs, to keep his building clean and in order. And, third, 



The Care of Buildings 203 

the difficulty of getting the help which is needed when it is 
needed through the long routine which must be observed 
would very greatly complicate the problem of keeping the 
schools clean. The greatest objection to the indirect system 
is that the janitor sometimes employs his help at too low 
a wage. This may be obviated by the establishing of a mini- 
mum scale of wages by the Care of Buildings Committee. 

DEMORALIZATION OF THE JANITORIAL STAFF 

The work of this division suffers greatly from the de- 
moralization of its staff, due to the uncertainties as to their 
salaries and to the city's failure to pay them for their work 
when payment is due. Uncertainty as to salaries is due 
to two causes. From 1897 up to the year 1910 the Board 
of Education, acting under Section 1064 of the charter, 
which directs it to administer all moneys appropriated for 
educational purposes in the City of New York, fixed the 
salaries of janitors, and they were paid upon receipt and 
audit of its payrolls. In July, 1910, the Corporation Coun- 
sel rendered an opinion based upon Section 56 of the charter, 
which reads " it shall be the duty of the Board of Aldermen, 
upon the recommendation of the Board of Estimate and 
Apportionment, to fix the salary of every officer or person 
whose compensation is paid out of the city treasury other 
than day laborers, teachers, examiners, and members of the 
supervising staff of the Department of Education," etc. 
Since September 1, 1910, the salaries of all janitors in the 
school department have been fixed by the Board of Edu- 
cation, the Board of Estimate, and the Board of Aldermen. 

At first the salary of each person so employed was fixed 
in this threefold way. But this method, though it seems to 
be the one directed by the charter, was found to be too 
cumbersome and to involve the city in considerable expense 
by necessitating it to pay the person whose rate had been 
fixed his established salary, no matter how his work was 
changed. At length, on February 14, 191 1, this method 



204 How New York City Administers Its ScJwols 

of fixing janitors' salaries was given up, and, since that 
time, they have been fixed by position. This entails a vast 
amount of work. Every increase by promotion, or the 
opening of additional class rooms, or additions to buildings, 
every transfer because of illness or necessitated by any 
emergency whatever, must go its weary way for formal 
action by the Board of Education, the Board of Estimate, 
and the Board of Aldermen. 

The legislative department of the city is clogged with this 
mass of petty administrative detail; but the hardship which 
this method of doing business involves to the service con- 
cerned is very much greater. It is a practice of the school 
department when the janitor of a school building is inca- 
pacitated, or other emergency arises, which leaves a school 
without janitorial care, to assign the building to the janitor 
of a neighboring school, to be looked after by him in addi- 
tion to his regular work. His compensation for this emer- 
gency work which he is required to undertake is such as 
barely to allow for the running expense of the building in 
order to prevent him from making a profit on more than 
one assignment. But his temporary assignment, which is 
a compulsory duty, requires him to pay an additional staff 
of assistants and to keep the buildings in running condition. 
As this temporary additional detail is due to an emergency, 
either the school which requires it must be closed until the 
new rate of compensation can be fixed in the regular way, 
or the Board of Education must meet the emergency and 
fix the rate of compensation as soon afterward as possible 
to take effect from the date of the emergency assignment. 
But the Comptroller's office has insisted that the new rate 
of payment cannot be retroactive, and takes effect from the 
date upon which it is fixed by resolution of the Board of 
Aldermen. Thus, the janitor, on the one hand, must accept 
his emergency assignment from the Board of Education, 
and, on the other hand, if he does so he faces the certainty 
of having to spend his own money with the assurance that 
he will have much difficulty, perhaps even a lawsuit, in 



The Care of Buildings 205 

getting it back again. The only alternative which the 
Board of Education has is to close the school until such a 
time as all the regulations shall be complied with; but to 
deprive hundreds, or even thousands, of little children of 
their right to an education merely in order that a techni- 
cality of administration may be complied with is a much 
too drastic measure; so, instead, the board struggles along 
under this heavy handicap, but is quite unable to meet its 
emergencies with the strength and directness with which 
it should meet them, and is prevented from building up a 
strong, loyal, satisfied corps to care for its buildings. 

Janitors are paid by the number of square feet of floor 
space in use in the buildings which they care for. There 
is a constant change in the number of school rooms in use 
throughout the year. From January 1, 1910, to January 3, 
191 1, 1,008 additional class rooms were opened and 616 
were closed ; or the total number of changes in class rooms 
during the year was 1,624. Besides, evening schools, 
recreation centers, and other extra activities are constantly 
modifying the work of the janitor, for which he has a 
just claim for compensation against the city. His rate of 
payment, if established at a given date, must be modified 
to correspond with these changes in his duties, and should 
be modified to meet the changes as they arise. It cannot 
be under the present arrangement. They do their work, 
but the city lacks a device for paying them promptly 
for it. 

THE NEED FOR SUFFICIENT APPROPRIATIONS 

On December 13, 191 1, the Finance Committee of the 
Board of Education reported that the deficiency in the fund 
for compensation of janitors for 191 1 was estimated at the 
beginning of the year to be $66,920.92, and an application 
of this board for an issue of special revenue bonds for 
that amount had been favorably reported by the Comp- 
troller to the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, on the 



jo6 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

request of the Board of Aldermen. " Certain unforeseen 
liabilities have accrued during the year which were not con- 
templated in the original calculation. The cost of janitorial 
services in evening and vacation activities, which fluctuates 
with the number of rooms in use, has been greater than 
anticipated/' "There is also pending before the Board 
of Estimate and Apportionment and the Board of Alder- 
men the matter of the fixation, under Section 56 of the 
charter, of certain enlarged rates of compensation for 
janitors who have been required to render extra services 
in connection with additions to buildings, new machinery 
installed, etc. The accrual of these liabilities will cause a 
further deficit of $13,000." 

The Board of Aldermen was therefore asked to adopt 
a resolution requesting the Board of Estimate and Appor- 
tionment to authorize the issue of thirteen thousand dollars 
($13,000) to meet this deficit. 

The claims of janitors still remaining unpaid on Febru- 
ary 23, 1 9 12, are shown in the annexed table. 

Such a condition of affairs represents a degree of hard- 
ship to employees which the City of New York ought not 
to visit upon them. Janitors and cleaners are not protected 
against want by any wide margin. The withholding of 
their pay after it has been earned leads to incalculable 
suffering. Some of them were evicted, some were driven 
to the loan sharks, some borrowed all they could from 
friends, and lived on scant rations until the city could meet 
its obligations. . 

Who is to blame for this condition in the public service t 
The Board of Education cannot well be blamed for under- 
calculating its needs, when the estimates which it submitted 
were cut to the extent of $66,920.92. It should be allowed 
a wider margin in determining its prospective necessities. 
All the money which it required was finally provided by 
the Fiscal Department, but the method employed has proven 
itself an impossible one, for it destroys the service which 
it is designed to conserve. 



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The Care of Buildings 207 

On December 14, 19 10, the Board of Estimate and 
Apportionment notified the Board of Education that since 
the matter of adjusting the compensation of janitors and 
the fixation of their salaries under the provisions of Section 
56 of the charter is now in the hands of a special committee 
of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, the board 
hereby recommends to the Board of Aldermen that, pend- 
ing the report of said committee, the compensation of jani- 
tors be fixed temporarily, and until further modified in 
accordance with a list which followed. 

Since that date all the salaries of janitors which have 
been fixed have been fixed temporarily pending the report 
of this committee. A special examiner has been investi- 
gating the service of janitors for some months, and re- 
cently he submitted a report embodying his findings. This 
report was sent to the Care of Buildings Committee, which 
immediately, in due process, requested its expert, the Auditor 
of the Board of Education, to examine it and to submit 
a report upon it. The two reports do not harmonize even 
upon fundamental matters. This method of adjusting diffi- 
culties and arriving at a proper procedure seems to be an 
impossible one. What is to be done? Disagreement is the 
inevitable outcome of this two-headed method of conducting 
the public business. Either the Board of Education should 
administer the schools, or the Board of Estimate and Ap- 
portionment should administer them. The question of de- 
termining what the law is at present, and whether it applies 
to a quasi contractor or refers only to the fixing of personal 
compensation, is one for the courts to settle; and, if they 
cannot extract a simpler method of school administration 
from it, the people must appeal to the legislature to remedy 
its defects. 

The following table shows the appropriations for jani- 
torial service for five years : 



2o8 How New York City Administers Its Schools 



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CHAPTER XVI 
THE FURNISHING OF SUPPLIES 

THE furnishing of supplies to keep so large an under- 
taking going is a colossal task. Certain conditions 
hinder it which ought to be removed. One thing greatly 
needed is a central storehouse, instead of three storehouses 
and a basement which the bureau now uses. " We have 
been trying for years to secure a central depository capable 
of holding all material necessary for a three to six months' 
supply for the schools, but have been unable to secure it. 
We did the best we could with the building at 418 East 
68th St., but the Building Department of the City of 
New York has stepped in and said we were overloading 
the floors, with the result that we cannot purchase supplies 
in large quantities, as in the past." This matter of a store- 
house is under way. 

Another urgent requirement is more money for school 
supplies. The appropriations for 191 1 were so low that, 
after the schools had been kept on something like a starva- 
tion basis for the greater part of the year, it became neces- 
sary to ask for an additional appropriation of $100,000 in 
Special Revenue Bonds to provide books, pens, ink, and 
paper to finish the work of the year. Only $75,000 was 
allowed. So the schools entered upon 19 12 behindhand in 
equipment for school work. The Committee on Supplies 
presented a budget showing what it, to the best of its ability, 
believed to be the minimum amount required for the year 
19 1 2. The Board of Estimate and Apportionment made 
considerable reduction in this estimate, and the Board of 
Aldermen made an arbitrary cut of $50,000 from it. Prin- 

209 



210 Hozv New York City Administers Its Schools 

cipals were, therefore, again ordered to go upon scanty 
rations and to give the essentials, that is, textbooks, pens, 
ink, and paper, the preference in making their requisitions. 
They were notified that the committee knew of no money 
which had been appropriated for the extension of kinder- 
gartens, work shops, kitchens, science rooms, etc. In the 
past the Bureau of Supplies had been able to make prompt 
deliveries during the month of January because through 
its management it was able to carry a surplus stock from 
one year to another. The cuts in the estimates for 191 1 
made it impossible to carry over any stock with which to 
supply all the schools with their necessities by February 1 
of this year. For the first time in years the bureau had 
to ask the schools to wait until such time after the supplies 
were due as it could furnish them. Instead of sending sup- 
plies, it sent a statement of the reasons why it could not 
send them. 



ITS METHOD OF FURNISHING SUPPLIES 

The method of furnishing supplies is as follows : When 
the appropriations are made a fund is set apart for each 
school, against which its principal draws his requisitions. 
The apportionment for the year 19 12 is made on the basis 
of the following allowance per child enrolled during the 
preceding month of November, as that has been found to 
be fairly representative of the enrollment for the year. 

Pupils — Kindergarten ©$0.75 

Primary @ .95 

Grammar (4A to 6B) @ 1.40 

Grammar (7 A to 8B) @ 2.40 

Special @ 1.00 

Cooking @ .60 

Shop-work @ .50 

That these ratios of allowance are not satisfactory to the 
principals who are responsible for the work of the schools, 



The Furnishing of Supplies 21 1 

the following carefully prepared report made by a committee 
appointed for that purpose by the Principals' Association 
shows : 

City of New York, May 12, 191 1. 

Committee on Supplies, 
Board of Education, 

Park Ave. and $gth St., 
New York City. 

Gentlemen, — Because of a quite general agreement 
among the principals that the best interests of this city 
demand a larger appropriation for supplies, our Asso- 
ciation instructed its Committee on Principals' Interests 
to investigate the matter. In compliance with these 
instructions this committee formulated a questionaire 
and sent a copy to each principal in the City of New 
York, with a view to learning the exact conditions and 
obtaining from the principals an opinion as to what 
allotment would make it possible to meet all just 
demands. 

This committee has very carefully gone over all re- 
plies, and begs leave to submit to you the result, trusting 
that some way may be found to relieve a condition which 
is already causing just complaints from parents, and 
which must continue to grow worse unless relief is 
obtained very soon. 

A very large majority of the principals replying say 
that they are compelled to use books that, for sani- 
tary or other reasons, ought to be destroyed. Many 
books are being used that have been in use for several 
years. Many complaints have been received from par- 
ents relative to the condition of books their children 
are compelled to use. Principals cannot remedy this 
unless they are given larger appropriations with which 
to buy books. 

After most careful consideration this committee is 



212 Hozv New York City Administers Its Schools 

of the opinion that the following amounts are the 
minimum which should be allowed per pupil for the 
grades specified: Kindergarten, 75 cents; iA to 3B, 
$1 ; 4A to 6B, $1.70; 7A to 8B, $2.50; shop, 75 cents; 
cooking, 70 cents. Since it is the general opinion that 
girls are more careful of books and other supplies than 
boys, a reduction of not more than ten per cent on the 
above proposed allotment for girls in grades iA to 
3B, 4A to 6B, 7A to 8B, might be considered the most 
reasonable way of reducing the total allowance, if it 
is found that a reduction is imperative. In behalf of 
our association, we beg that you will make every effort 
to secure for the schools the relief which we ask and 
which we feel sure you will see is urgently needed. 
Very respectfully, 
(Signed) 

Theophilus Johnson, Chairman, 

Lewis A. Beardsley, 

Leon W. Goldrich, 

Maurice J. Thompson, 

John Doty, 

Rufus A. Vance, Member ex officio. 
Committee on Principals Interests. 

Supporting evidence is found in the following passages 
from a communication to the Committee on Supplies by 
the City Superintendent, dated April 25, 191 1 : 

" I fear that the schools are slowly being crippled 
through lack of necessary supplies. At least, principals 
are beginning to complain that they cannot furnish all 
the textbooks and reading matter their pupils require 
because their allowance is so small. If you will glance 
at the following table you will see that the amount 
expended for books, charts, maps, etc., since 1905 has 
not increased in proportion to the increase in school 
register. The increase in school register since 1906 



The Furnishing of Supplies 213 

is 16 per cent; the increase in expenditure for books 
etc., has been only 3 per cent, as between 1906 and 
1910. Furthermore, there was actually less spent in 
1909-10 for this purpose than in 1907-8. Under these 
circumstances there seems good reason to believe that 
the schools are being crippled through ill-judged par- 
simony in supplying books and school apparatus Would 
it not be well to have a special inquiry made into this 
subject? 

fIZ, ^ VCr tf Expenditure for 

Ending Monthly Increase Supplies, Including 

July 31st Register Textbooks, Etc. 

1906 568130 I7 , 024 $1,291,400.90 

*9°7 591,653 23,523 1,355,985.55 

1908 6z 7 ,34i 25,688 irftfidS 

1909 639,323 21,982 1,254,241.27 

1910 659,495 20,172 1,333,322.69 

"Per cent increase in average register, 1910 over 
1900 = 16 +. 

"Per cent increase in expenditures for supplies in- 
cluding textbooks, etc., 1910 over 1906 = 3 + 

"The quality of some of the supplies is inferior 
because of lack of money to purchase better. This is 
noticeably the case in the supplies of pens and scissors." 

The Committee on Supplies furnishes each superintend- 
ent with a statement of the amount set aside for each 
school under his supervision. Each principal or head of 
lief 1 1S P e ™ itted jo or der supplies from the official 

« ■ t r en , they need su PP lies other than those on the 
official lists, they must specify on the requisition for such 
supplies the estimated cost of same. 
list The f ° ll0wing instruction s are printed in the supplies 

" Before forwarding requisitions to the superintend- 
ent m charge of school see that all sheets are legible, 



214 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

and figure up amount to ascertain if the unexpended 
balance will cover the same. 

" Requisitions in excess of appropriation must not 
be sent to the Bureau of Supplies until money has been 
appropriated by the Committee on Supplies to meet the 
deficiency." 

Requisition books are arranged in quintuplicate form, 
the intention being that the original, duplicate, and tripli- 
cate copies shall be forwarded to the Bureau of Supplies; 
the quadruplicate copy to be retained by the superintendent 
in charge of the school, who is to stamp the receipt on 
back of same and file it according to the number of the 
school, so that it may be available at any time for such 
information as he may require. The quintuplicate copy 
is to be retained by the principal in the requisition book, 
to show the details of the articles ordered. The quintu- 
plicate copy is arranged for the benefit of the principal 
of the school as follows : 

Amount allotted to the school for the year 191 ... . $ 

Drawn to date $ 

Still available $ 

This requisition $ 

Balance available $ 



If these figures are carried out the superintendent can 
deduct the amount of requisitions received from the last 
balance and he will have the amount still available. 

It frequently happens that requisitions are held by the 
superintendent for various reasons for a considerable period. 
These requisitions are liabilities against the fund until 
canceled and should be considered. 

Requisitions received by the Bureau of Supplies after 
the first of the month are considered as applicable to 
the first of the following month. 

All contracts for the furnishing of supplies are made 
annually by means of competitive bids. Standards of 



The Furnishing of Supplies 215 

quality and character of supplies are determined by the 
judgment of the experts in the several departments. In 
receiving deliveries of supplies the superintendent takes 
samples at random from the whole quantity delivered and 
compares them with the standard which is the basis of 
the contract. As he and certain members of his staff 
have become expert in testing supplies, there is, if their 
work is well done, very little opportunity for the contractor 
to fill his order with goods which do not come up to 
standard. 

_ A list of supplies authorized to be used in the several 
kinds of schools is printed and distributed to principals. 
Each item on this list is numbered and described, the name 
of the contractor furnishing it, and its price is given. 
Separate requisitions must be made for each of the fol- 
lowing classifications : 

1. Special supplies for use in day and evening high 
schools. 

2. Drawing supplies. 

3. Stationery. 

4. Sewing. 

5. Kindergarten. 

6. Domestic science. 

7. Library, nurses, miscellaneous. 

8. Pens and pencils. 

9. Physical training. 

10. Records. 

11. Special supplies. 

12. Work shop (exclusive of lumber). 

13. Lumber. 

14. Elementary science. 

1 5- Typewriters, mimeographs, and supplies for the same. 

Requisitions must conform to the rules and the list; 
number, quantity, description of the item, name of the 
contractor, price, extension, and totals must be correct or 
they are returned. A six weeks' supply of items 1, 2, 3, 
4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, but not more, may be ordered 



216 Hozv New York City Administers Its Schools 

at one time. Requisitions for a six months' supply of 
items 5, 7, and n are accepted. Items of a permanent 
character that may be required for the work of the term 
may be ordered at one time. All requisitions, except jani- 
tors', must be in the Bureau of Supplies not later than the 
first of the month for delivery during the succeeding month. 
When the items on a requisition are not all delivered, each 
item delivered is checked and the requisition is returned 
to the bureau in order to secure delivery of the other 
items. When all items are delivered, the principal receipts 
the requisition and returns it. If a shortage in delivery 
occurs, a memorandum is made on the requisition and the 
claim is investigated on the day of delivery, if possible. 
All deliveries are checked on the copy of the requisition 
retained in the school as well as on the copy which the 
driver presents. All requisitions must be approved by the 
superintendent in charge of the school. 

In addition, the Supplies Committee exercises the pre- 
rogative of approving or disapproving certain items on the 
requisitions as the condition of the funds or the character 
of the goods requisitioned for may dictate. It exercises 
this privilege rather vigorously when funds are low, and, 
in 191 1, it limited the schools rather drastically to supplies 
which, in its judgment, were " absolutely essential." The 
work of the bureau is greatly retarded by the volume of 
detail which it is compelled to observe whenever the short- 
age of funds involves a disarrangement of its methods of 
accepting requisitions. 

The method of requisitioning for textbooks, janitors' 
supplies, etc., is much the same. 

No school is at any time allowed to exceed its balances 
for supplies. It is not allowed to send requisitions in 
excess of its appropriations until the Committee on Sup- 
plies has appropriated money with which it may meet its 
deficiency. Application must be made for an increased 
allowance, accompanied by data giving in detail the num- 
ber of pupils in each grade, the changes which have taken 



The Furnishing of Supplies 217 

place, etc. This, too, must be approved by the superin- 
tendent in charge. If conditions are believed to warrant the 
additional allowance asked for, it is granted. The Super- 
intendent of Supplies testifies that the principals cooperate 
carefully and well with his office, both in requisitioning for 
supplies and in receiving and caring for them. They in- 
ventory their stock on hand once a year, and carry little 
or no superfluous stock in the schools. 

On the other hand, there is vigorous complaint about the 
quality of supplies, the quantity furnished, and the lack 
of promptness in filling requisitions. The bureau needs 
more educational oversight. It cannot serve its purposes 
as an independent division. The necessity for a general 
manager, who, at the same time, supervises the schools, 
is very apparent here. 

One difficulty with the system is that changes may be 
ordered in the course of study or in subjects by those in 
authority over these matters without sufficient inquiry as 
to the cost of such changes and the financial ability of the 
department to carry them into effect. This is an illustra- 
tion of the failure of a departmental system, uncontrolled 
by a general manager, to unite and cooperate in the per- 
formance of a single work. 

The present method of furnishing supplies to the schools 
is not satisfactory to those who are responsible for oper- 
ating it. Principals now choose their textbooks and sup- 
plies from an open list. They may select the articles best 
suited to their pupils' needs, or they may not. The matter 
of issuing supplies is not as thoroughly controlled as it is 
felt that it should be. On October 11, 191 1, the Com- 
mittee on Supplies reported to the Board of Education that 
it had given very careful consideration to the matter of 
the establishment of a tariff of supplies to be furnished to 
the public schools. Prior to 1898 such a tariff was em- 
bodied in the by-laws of the Board of Education of the 
former City of New York, showing the number of books, 
slates, pencils, etc., allowed for every hundred pupils, and 



218 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

also the quantity of other supplies allowed for each school 
building. The committee presented the following commu- 
nication upon this subject, addressed to it under date of 
October 5, 191 1, by the Superintendent of School Supplies: 

" As you are aware, I have advocated in the past the 
establishment of a tariff for supplies in place of our 
present per capita basis. Within a recent period cer- 
tain demands have been made upon the Bureau of Sup- 
plies for statistics of various kinds which it has been 
impossible to furnish because of our present method 
of doing business; for instance, we were asked on one 
occasion to specify the cost of supplies for certain 
grades; again, we were asked to state the value of the 
stock in the schools at a particular time and the quan- 
tity of supplies consumed within a given period. While 
I do not admit that the tariff will enable me to give the 
latter data, I could, with the tariff, furnish the former. 
The tariff method of furnishing supplies will also en- 
able us to lay the foundation to prepare almost any 
line of information regarding the quantity of supplies 
needed for any grade in the schools. To do so, 
however, the cooperation of the educational division is 
necessary, i. e., they must prepare a comprehensive 
tariff outlining each line of supplies necessary for each 
grade and the quantity required per pupil. If this is 
clone we can make all necessary calculations when we 
have the number of pupils who must be supplied with 
books and other essentials. By this method each school 
will be on an equal footing on the first of each year; 
principals will not have to bother about dollars and 
cents, and all that will be necessary for them to do is 
to ask for the supplies to which they are entitled. It 
will be possible, under the same conditions, closely to 
estimate the amount that will be required each year 
for any subject. Under the present basis some prin- 
cipals may receive too much and others not enough. 



The Furnishing of Supplies 219 

Those receiving too little will naturally ask for more, 
with the result that both the principals and the Bureau 
of Supplies are placed in the position of trying at all 
times to make ends meet, and, as a consequence, the 
children may suffer. I, therefore, deem it wise to ask 
you to present a resolution recommending to the Board 
of Education to request the Board of Superintendents 
to prepare a comprehensive tariff of supplies whereby 
it will be possible for the bureau to tell how many books 
are necessary for each grade, and also all other lines 
of supplies." 

The committee so recommended, and the Board of Edu- 
cation adopted a resolution requesting the Board of Super- 
intendents to prepare a comprehensive tariff of supplies to 
be furnished in the public schools in the City of New York, 
Here the matter rests, for, as yet, such a tariff has not 
been submitted by the Board of Superintendents. 



CHAPTER XVII 

THE BUREAU OF LECTURES, AND OTHER 
SUPPLEMENTARY SCHOOL ACTIVITIES 

NEW YORK CITY has the distinction of having de- 
vised and maintained the largest and most splendid 
scheme in the world for utilizing school buildings outside 
of school hours. The credit for this great achievement 
belongs to the City Superintendent of Schools, the Super- 
visor of Lectures, and the Board of Education. Refer- 
ence to the table which summarizes the activities of the 
year will show that 20,085 persons attended the evening 
recreation centers, 657,619 used the vacation baths, 19,631 
availed themselves of the evening roof playgrounds, 
105,897 used the vacation playgrounds, and 20,367 at- 
tended the vacation schools. The total attendance at the 
evening lectures was 955,074; the average attendance 
was 176. 

THE NEED FOR SUPPLEMENTARY SCHOOL ACTIVITIES 

Too much cannot be said in praise of such extensions of 
the usefulness of the school system. Nothing but the lack 
of funds keeps it from doing a vastly larger work in these 
ways and in others, such as in opening summer schools for 
teaching the English language to foreigners, opening great 
numbers of special classes for teaching manual work after 
school hours, etc. The superintendents have urged the 
claims of these activities. A large city must fit its schools 
to the needs of its people by furthering all the supple- 
mentary forms of school service which will actually min- 
ister to public needs. 

220 



Lectures and Other School Activities 221 

A report of the City Superintendent of Schools, under 
date of October 25, 191 1, reads: 

"Inasmuch as playgrounds for children draw their 
patrons only from their immediate surroundings, it is 
obvious that the beneficent effects of public school play- 
grounds are limited only by the amount of money avail- 
able to appoint instructors and to supply the very meager 
equipment required. Were the appropriations sufficient 
every school building in a congested neighborhood could 
be opened every afternoon with incalculable advantage 
to the children of the vicinity, certainly from the be- 
ginning of June until the end of September, and many 
of them throughout the year. 

" The vacation schools and the evening recreation cen- 
ters should be at least doubled in number. Attention 
is called to the success of the ' continuation classes ' in 
the vacation schools. It points clearly to the time when 
the public schools will be open, in part at least, all the 
year round or when the summer vacation will be con- 
fined to the month of July. The playgrounds main- 
tained by your board are distinguished by the following 
characteristics : 

" 1. Because public school buildings are found in 
every part of the city, they may bring opportunities 
for rest, for recreation, and for escape from the streets, 
within easy reach of every child. 

" 2. The use of public school grounds and buildings 
for recreative purposes involves no additional outlay 
for purchase of ground or erection of buildings. 

" 3. The public school playgrounds depend for their 
attractiveness not on expensive equipment, but on the 
human and social element of skilful leadership and ab- 
solute fair play in games, and on the judicious inter- 
mingling of play with recreative cultural work. 

" 4. They provide play and rest space not merely for 
the adolescent boys and girls who are strong and able 



222 Hozv New York City Administers Its Schools 

to fight for their rights in street and park, but for the 
infant in arms, for the child of tender years, and even 
for the mothers who have no other escape from noise, 
and dust, and heat." 

The board is to be commended also for its provision 
of special classes for deaf, blind, crippled, tuberculous, anae- 
mic, and mentally defective children. Only a beginning 
has been made in these activities, and that against tremen- 
dous difficulty in the way of securing funds. A much more 
liberal policy is desired to favor their growth. 

The Public School Athletic League, too, is an organiza- 
tion of the greatest possible value, and well deserves the 
support and encouragement which the Athletic Committee 
of the Board of Education gives it. 

THE PUBLIC FREE LECTURES 

The Public Free Lecture System is a monument to the 
genius for service of the man who both originated it and 
has perfected its working through the years. In it New 
York City has contributed a new type of public school 
education to the world, one which will undoubtedly spread 
to every city of importance in the nation. What has been 
done by this bureau represents, therefore, a new educa- 
tional movement of the greatest significance. Lectures were 
given in one hundred and seventy-seven centers during the 
year 1911-12. They were given in four languages: Eng- 
lish, German, Yiddish, and Italian. They were originally 
called " Lectures to Working Men and Women," and lec- 
tures to working men and women they are primarily and 
always will be. They are upon various subjects, which are 
classified under literature, history, sociology, art, general 
and applied science, descriptive geography, and the special 
lectures in foreign languages. The lectures are carefully 
chosen, carefully announced, carefully arranged for, and 
carefully reported upon when given. A thorough system 



Lectures and Other School Activities 223 

obtains in this bureau. Inspectors are employed to report 
upon the condition of the hall, the character of the audi- 
ence present, and the success and value of the lecture which 
is given. A more thorough system of records could not 
well be devised. Upon the basis of the reports which are 
kept subjects are chosen and lecturers are reemployed. 
There is little opportunity for unprofitable work in this 
division. It is one of the best examples of scientific 
management which we have seen. 



CHAPTER XVIII 
THE LOCAL SCHOOL BOARDS 

SECTION 1087 of the Revised Charter directs the Board 
of Education to divide the boroughs under its charge 
into forty-six local school board districts. " There shall be 
in each of said districts a local school board consisting of 
seven members, as follows : Five persons to be appointed 
by the president of the borough, a member of the Board 
of Education, designated by the president of that board, as 
hereinafter provided, and the district superintendent as- 
signed to duty in such district by the City Superintendent." 
All the members of the local school boards serve without 
pay and are residents of the districts in and for which they 
are appointed. The charter directs them to meet as often 
as their duties require, but not less than once in each month, 
excepting July and August. 



THEIR DUTIES 

Subject to regulation by the by-laws of the Board of 
Education, their duties are as follows: (a) to visit at least 
once a month the schools of their districts and inspect them 
as to punctual and regular attendance of teachers and pupils, 
the studies, progress, and order and discipline of the pupils, 
the cleanliness, safety and ventilation of the buildings, etc. 
They also report in writing to the Board of Education, on 
or before the 1st of January and June of each year, in re- 
spect to the condition of the schools, the efficiency of 
teachers, and the wants of the districts, especially in regard 

224 



The Local School Boards 225 

to schools and school premises; (b) they shall report when- 
ever additional kindergarten and elementary school accom- 
modation is necessary, and recommend the erection of build- 
ings and such repairs as they see fit, the hiring of premises, 
etc.; (c) they shall at once report any dereliction of duty 
on the part of any member of the staff of the board; (d) 
they shall have power to excuse absences of teachers, sub- 
ject, however, to the approval of the Board of Superin- 
tendents in cases where teachers are excused without pay; 
(e^they shall try and determine all matters relating to dis- 
cipline, corporal punishment, and other matters affecting the 
administration of the schools, but they shall take up com- 
plaints against teachers only after a report by the principals ; 
(f) they shall have the power and the duty to try charges 
made by a principal, the district superintendent, or a parent 
residing in the district against a teacher for gross miscon- 
duct, insubordination, neglect of duty, or inefficiency; (g) 
they shall present charges of any dereliction of duty on the 
part of janitors; (h) they shall see that the sanitary and 
health regulations of the Board of Education are enforced; 
(1) they shall report all vacancies in the teaching force; 
(j) they shall have power to transfer teachers within their 
districts; (k) they shall have the power and the duty to 
adopt by-laws not in conflict with the by-laws of the Board 
of Education. 

This is an extensive program of duties, and not an alto- 
gether well-considered one. Several of the functions enu- 
merated properly belong to the district superintendents and 
are discharged by them. 



ARE THEY PERFORMED BY THEM? 

In order to find out whether or not the local school boards 
were performing their duties as prescribed by law, a letter 
of inquiry, under date of February 2j, 1912, was addressed 
to the secretary of each local school board, asking thirteen 
definite questions covering, for the year 191 1. the perform- 



226 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

ance of the duties outlined in the charter. Thirty out of 
the forty-six replied; one of them, that of district number 
II, that the communication had been filed; a second request 
for an answer brought the response that the board had not 
yet decided what it should do in the matter. All of the 
twenty-nine reported that minutes are kept of all their 
meetings, but the answers to subsequent questions did not 
in all cases bear out this statement. Twenty-two reported 
the number of meetings attended by their members as they 
were asked to do. Four reported that their members " at- 
tended uniformly." Only nine boards reported their record 
of visits for the year. These nine reported a total of 682 
visits made. One of them, that of district 33, reported 
206 visits by its members; number 1, 66; number 5, 26; 
number 8, 17; number 12, 59; number 18, 97; number 19, 
y8; number 21, 58; and number 22, 75. Ten reported 
that no record of visits was kept. Eighteen reported that 
they had made the prescribed written report to the Board 
of Education for January and July, and nine that they had 
not reported both times. The records of the Board of Edu- 
cation show that only twenty-four of the forty-six local 
school boards made a report last year. 

All of the twenty-nine boards replied that they had called 
the attention of the Board of Education to matters requiring 
its official notice at other times during the year. Five de- 
clared that they had reported derelictions of duty on the 
part of members of its staff to the Board of Education, and 
twenty-four that there had been no occasion to do so. 
Twenty-two reported the need for additional school accom- 
modations within the year. Seven reported that they had 
granted 990 leaves of absence to teachers, and six that they 
had granted 589 excuses for absence. Eight reported that 
they had held trials upon charges duly prepared. Action was 
taken in regard to the enforcement of sanitary regulations 
in schools by twenty-five boards. One board transferred 
one teacher, and one board reported forty-seven vacancies. 
The others reported no action in these particulars. Twenty- 



The Local School Boards 227 

two boards have adopted by-laws by which to conduct their 
business; seven have not. 

From a careful reading of all the reports which the 
local boards made to the Board of Education, and also a 
great number of letters from their members concerning 
their work, we are convinced of two things in regard to 
them: First, that a few local boards take their duties 
seriously, are very energetic, and helpful to the schools of 
their districts ; ( and second, that at present, on the whole, 
the local school boards are but a feeble arm of the school 
service. The opportunities which they have for service are 
tremendous. They must, if possible, be brought to embrace 
them. 

The following reasons for the existence of local school 
boards, submitted by two of their members who are active 
in them, seem to us to state the need for them exactly : 

" The local school board seems a desirable and neces- 
sary part of the effective school organization and admin- 
istration in New York City for the following reasons : 

" 1. Because it is a means by which public interest 
may be brought into direct contact with the schools of 
each district, and with the school system as a whole. 

" 2. Because it is a means by which the particular 
educational needs of each district may be studied by 
disinterested citizens outside of the school system and 
yet in touch with it. Local school board members 
should be in a position to study and know the other 
agencies affecting child welfare at work in each district, 
and should be able, therefore, to understand its educa- 
tional needs, and, on the basis of this knowledge, to pre- 
sent suggestions of possible modifications and changes 
in the schools of the district to fit these needs. In other 
words, the local school board is a means by which great 
adaptability to local needs may obtain in the schools of 
each district. 

" 3. Because in so large a system more personal 



228 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

supervision of the housekeeping side of school adminis- 
tration, including ventilation and the physical care of 
the children, etc., and more personal interest to encour- 
age principals and teachers is needed than can possibly 
be provided by the Board of Education. 

" N. B. Should the size of the present Board of 
Education ever be decreased, all of these reasons why 
the local school boards are desirable and necessary would 
become more cogent." 

CAUSES FOR THEIR DISSATISFACTION 

Why have the local school boards in large measure failed 
to use their opportunity? A considerable body of informa- 
tion has been collected from them which bears upon this 
subject. It shows a general discontent on the part of local 
board members with their situation. They feel that they 
have responsibility, but little or no authority. " The local 
school board is a part of the system but has no power 
whatever." " If the local school boards had more positive 
powers, or if some of the power now held by the main 
board were placed in the joint control of the local and main 
boards, more effective cooperation could probably be had. 
As it is now, their powers are essentially recommendatory." 
" The Board of Education does not make any effort to 
secure our cooperation at all." " Our board takes the 
initiative and receives courteous attention, and, generally, 
its recommendations are complied with, though after many 
days." Another board objects that the Board of Superin- 
tendents usurps the functions of the local boards. Still an- 
other board reports that it maintains the closest relations 

with the Board of Education through Mr. . " It is 

vitally necessary that the commissioner attend every meet- 
ing of the local board." But another, " Local boards are 
mere figureheads or messengers." " The difficulty is due 
to referring deliberations of local boards to supervisory 
heads of departments instead of committees of the Board 



The Local School Boards 229 

of Education." Another board, " We are most fortunate 
in having a central board member who attends all meet- 
ings." " There should be some method of getting rid of 
members who do not attend regularly." " Its powers should 
not be increased, but should be recognized by the City 
Superintendent and others in authority. We have gotten 
every educational facility for our district that the city offers 
from buildings, sites, down to proper furniture, and we 
intend to get everything for our children that we can." 
Quite opposed to this is this one : " The local boards, limited 
in authority as they are, are useless. I am, however, a firm 
believer in local boards with wider scope and authority, not 
only to recommend, but to carry into effect such recom- 
mendations." 



THE FUNCTIONS OF THE LOCAL BOARD 

What is the function of the local school board? It is 
the resident protector of the schools of its district. It is 
the official promoter of the schools in its community. Its 
function is to interpret them to the people and the people 
to them. It is an official board of school visitors repre- 
senting the parents of the district, to call upon the schools 
and to make itself acquainted with their work. District 
superintendents and principals visit the class rooms from the 
official end of the system, the local board visits them from 
the people's end. It should function in bringing parents 
and teachers together, in holding school meetings, in bring- 
ing parents into the school, and in establishing and keeping 
up good relations between them. 

From the standpoint of the people, again, it reports the 
school needs of the neighborhood to the Board of Edu- 
cation. It acts as a court of first instance in settling diffi- 
culties. The Board of Education is too far away to be 
in personal touch with both the community and the school. 
The local board supplies the element of watchfulness, inter- 
est, and support. It cares for the personal and local sides 



230 Hozv Nezv York City Administers Its Schools 

of the district's school activities, pointing out to teachers, 
superintendents, and members of the Board of Education 
ways in which more things and better things can be done; 
and to parents and teachers how they can work together 
to accomplish them. There is a place for such local official 
guardians of the public schools, and those boards which are 
giving themselves energetically to their duties are perform- 
ing a very necessary work. 

It is my belief that too many powers and duties are given 
to them in the charter. Confusion has resulted in their 
minds as to what their duties are. Unless the present dif- 
fused system of school administration is to be still further 
diffused and dismembered, their functions ought not to be 
increased, but lessened. I agree heartily with one of their 
members who writes : "I would not urge that the powers 
of the local boards should be very greatly increased. It 
would be unfortunate to have forty-six separate bodies in 
forty-six different localities, each with the power to decide 
important questions as to school sites and school buildings, 
for instance. Such matters must be decided in the end 
by a central body having, in view the interests of the city 
at large. . . . There are many things now done by the 
central authorities over the heads or without the approval 
of the local boards which might better first be submitted 
to and approved by the appropriate local board." 

The chief function of the local board should be the 
visiting and inspection of schools; but they should be 
without power to interfere with class-room work; instead, 
they should consult the district superintendent upon such 
matters. 

They should also report any dereliction of duty on the 
part of school officials which comes to their attention. They 
should continue to hear charges against principals and 
teachers, if any are made. And they should make recom- 
mendations as to the need for additional school accommo- 
dations, repairs, etc. If their work could be thus simplified 
and made definitely recommendatory, and not administra- 



The Local School Boards 231 

tive, more time should be spent by them in visiting class 
rooms and less in holding local board meetings. There 
would seem to be little necessity for them to meet regularly 
more than once in every two months. What is needed, and 
what does not now exist, is an agency for keeping the local 
school boards up to their mission. The Board of Education 
has not concerned itself sufficiently with them. Its minutes 
show that its committees do consider their recommendations 
and act upon them; it almost never fails to confirm their 
findings upon the charges which they have heard; but it 
has not bothered itself, beyond a resolution to refer com- 
munications concerning local matters to local boards for 
consideration, with working out ways and means of en- 
listing them more vigorously in support of the schools. 
It does not call conventions of local board members; it 
does not, as a rule, send for them to explain local condi- 
tions and needs; it does not refer as many matters to 
them as it should for report and suggestion. When they 
fail to send in their reports on time, or altogether, it does 
not send for them. Not enough copies of the minutes of its 
committee meetings are printed to supply them, if nothing 
else was done with them. They ought to be taken into the 
system and to be made an integral part of it. The records 
which have been furnished us show that, wherever the cen- 
tral board member is faithful and active in the local school 
board, the local school board is an efficient factor in the 
schools of its district. 

Most members of the central board seem to overlook 
this duty altogether. Some one officer in the general offices 
should be charged with the duty of working out the details 
of a plan of cooperation with the local boards and of re- 
quiring reports upon their work. He should, with the 
constant assistance of the Board of Education itself, and of 
all of its division officers, build up and maintain a scheme 
of interrelations between the central and the local boards. 
There is plenty of evidence that teachers and principals find 
them helpful and cooperate with them. There is no need 



27,2 Hozv New York City Administers Its Schools 

for a division of administrative functions between them 
and the central board, but rather for the building up of an 
interested and watchful body of official public school over- 
seers, cooperating with the Board of Education by reports 
and advice, and helping it to build up a strong and informed 
public opinion to support the cause of the schools. 



CHAPTER XIX 
A SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 

WE therefore recommend : 
First. That the law governing the administration 
and control of school affairs be strictly followed. 

Second. That the courts be called upon to interpret such 
parts of it as are obscure, in order definitely to fix the 
responsibility of the Board of Education and all municipal 
boards and officers for the administration of the schools. 

Third. That new legislation be asked for in order to 
unify the control of the schools in such matters as require 
unification to make effective administration possible. 

Fourth. As every division of the educational service is 
hampered and hindered by shortage of funds, and by lack 
of control on the part of the Board of Education of the 
funds appropriated for school purposes, the board should 
control its own funds in order to administer the school 
affairs of the city. 

Fifth. A method of appropriation of public money for 
educational purposes should be adopted by which estimates 
of needs and public money provided to meet them will be 
more nearly identical than they now are. 

Sixth. Methods of accounting to the city should be sim- 
plified to the utmost degree compatible with honesty of 
administration. 

Seventh. External hindrances to the administration of 
the schools of the city should be removed by carrying out 
the established policy of the state to " separate public edu- 
cation and the control and management of the schools from 

233 



234 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

all other municipal interests and business," by making the 
Board of Education independent and giving it the power to 
determine the amount of money needed for school purposes 
as has been done in other leading cities of the United 
States — Boston, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Kan- 
sas City, Indianapolis, and others. 

Eighth. New York City should have a Board of Educa- 
tion small enough to provide a united, informed, and ener- 
getic administration of the schools. Such a board should 
not be paid, for that would put the executive management 
of education into the hands of laymen, whereas it belongs 
to educators. The Board of Education represents the peo- 
ple, to perform for them the delegated function of selecting 
and employing the technical staff who are to conduct the 
work of the schools; legislating and making policies to 
guide them; considering reports from them; examining 
into the sufficiency of their plans and their service; up- 
holding them as long as their work is satisfactory, and 
putting others in their places as soon as it ceases to be so. 

Ninth. That the Board of Education systematize its 
work by clearly separating its functions from those of the 
several members of its executive staff. 

Tenth. That there be a general manager of the under- 
taking. For the conduct of an educational work he must be 
the Superintendent of Schools. 

Eleventh. That the general manager should be ex officio 
a member of the Board of Education ; that his position upon 
all matters upon which official action is taken may be made 
a matter of record; and that needless jealousy of function 
between the Board of Education and the director of the 
undertaking may be eliminated. 

Twelfth. The Board of Education should retain for itself 
the necessity of becoming acquainted with its work as a 
whole and of employing the informed and deliberate judg- 
ment of the whole body to conduct its business. All ex- 
ecutive functions should be turned over to its executive staff, 
which should therefore be increased. The number of stand- 



A Summary of Recommendations 235 

ing committees should be cut down and the work of com- 
mittees should be limited to the preparation of business to be 
submitted to the board for consideration. 

Thirteenth. That the functions of the City Superin- 
tendent of Schools be defined in such a way as to give 
him authority commensurate with his de facto responsibility. 

Fourteenth. There is need for a codification of the laws 
governing the work of the Department of Education, and 
the Board of Education should have a salaried legal adviser 
of its own to protect the educational interests. 

Fifteenth. The responsibility for conducting the medical 
examinations of school children, to discover physical defects 
which interfere with their progress in education, should be 
in the hands of the Department of Education. 

Sixteenth. The necessary enlargement of the statistical 
staff should be made to enable it to carry out its plan of 
reporting the cost of education per student hour of instruc- 
tion. There should be but one statistical division. 

Seventeenth. A bureau of investigation and appraisal 
should be created for the collection of information concern- 
ing developments in education, and for the elaboration of 
scientific standards by which it should measure the results 
attained by instruction in the city schools. 

Eighteenth. The financial statistics which are published 
in the reports of the board are confusing, since part of them 
are for the school year and part of them for the fiscal year. 
If possible this confusion should be eliminated by the publi- 
cation of but one authoritative financial report per annum. 

Nineteenth. We recommend that a department of rec- 
ords be established, in charge of trained experts, to supervise 
the mechanical preparation of all printed records and re- 
ports ; to keep them indexed to date, supplying a cumulative 
index covering a period of years; and to conduct a filing 
department for the filing and supervision of all the records 
of the board after they have ceased to be in constant use. 

Twentieth. That the speculative elements in estimates of 
the Board of Education be reduced to approximations to 



2 36 How Nezv York City Administers Its Schools 

certainty by basing the estimates on statistics of expansion 
in the departments through a period of years. That a more 
liberal allowance per pupil be used in calculating the amount 
required for school supplies; and that the standards of 
maintenance set by the Board of Education for the upkeep 
of school buildings be allowed. 

Twenty- first. That the Board of Education be authorized 
to fix the salaries of its own office staff, and be provided with 
sufficient funds to employ the necessary help, and be given 
complete control over its own schedules, enabling it to make 
such transfers, promotions, and additions to its staff as the 
exigencies of its work may require. A revision of the 
charter is necessary before the Board of Education can fix 
the salaries of its office force. 

Twenty-second. We recommend that the proposed scien- 
tific study of the location of school sites be undertaken as 
soon as possible. 

Twenty-third. We recommend a return to the greatly 
simplified process of adopting school-building plans outlined 
in the charter (1073), and that the school-building fund 
be allotted in bulk, to be administered by the Board of 
Education. 

Twenty-fourth. That a bureau for the care,- heating, and 
ventilation of school buildings be created, with a technically 
trained and experienced heating and ventilating engineer at 
its head, and that the Bureau of School Buildings be re- 
lieved of these functions. 

Twenty-fifth. That the entire control of the janitorial 
service be placed in the hands of the Board of Education. 

Twenty-sixth. As the funds for school supplies are inade- 
quate and the quantity, quality, and promptness of delivery 
of school supplies unsatisfactory, that more money be appro- 
priated for this purpose, and a more satis factory method 
for furnishing such supplies be devised. 

Twenty-seventh. Money should be provided as liberally 
as it can be for the extension of the supplementary school 
activities, such as vacation schools, vacation playgrounds, 



A Summary of Recommendations 237 

recreation centers, instruction of foreigners in the English 
language, evening lectures, and special classes for deaf, 
blind, crippled, tubercular, anaemic, and mentally deficient 
children. 

Twenty-eighth. That the legal duties of the local school 
boards be simplified in such a way as to make their chief 
duty that of visiting and inspecting the schools and develop- 
ing the interest of the community in them. The Board of 
Education should do everything in its power to make the 
local boards an integral part of the organized school service. 



Appendices 



APPENDIX A 

THE " TWO HUNDRED AND FORTY-ONE QUESTIONS " WHICH WERE 
ASKED " TO TEST THE RELIABILITY OF THE REPORT." x 

"It isn't safe to ask questions unless you are willing to hear the 
answers." — Cr others. 

Summary of the Questions. 

(i) Questions like this — "We have directed you to go from 
New York to Boston ; now to show us that you have done so please 
tell us what you saw at Philadelphia " 145 

(2) Misquoting the report 21 

(3) Already answered in the report 4 1 

(4) Asking for basis for conclusions or for the privilege of 
making the investigation at this point on the assumption that the 
question-asker has been properly trained to make such judgments 

and the investigator has not 16 

(5) Asking for clearer statements when those already made are 
clear 6 

(6) Asking for supplementary study after the fact, when no 
such instructions were given before the fact 7 

(7) Legitimate questions 3 

(8) Do not understand 2 

(9) Questions omitted by the asker from the numbered list . . 1 

(10) Calling attention to mistakes 1 

Total 243 

Note. — Two questions in Mr. Mitchel's letter are numbered 121, and 
the number 174 is also similarly used twice in it. These mistakes have 
been corrected in listing the questions here. 

1 The pages given in parentheses at the end of each answer in this 
appendix refer to the page of the text of the report upon which either 
the question or the answer or both are based. The report was filed 
July 1, 1912. It is based upon an extensive study of the official records 
of the Board of Education for the year 191 1. Figures and records for 
the year 1912 have been designated as such. 



242 How Nezv York City Administers Its Schools 

Any one can ask questions, but to ask questions which bear upon 
a particular subject is quite another matter. There are rules for that 
game. Both the plaintiff and the defendant in a case at law are bound 
to confine their evidence to the issue and the court will protect a wit- 
ness in his refusal to answer incompetent, irrelevant, and immaterial 
questions which are put to him. Just so, he who asks questions to 
test the value of a report must ask questions in keeping with the 
instructions in accordance with which the report was made. If he 
has specifically refused to issue written directions himself, he is as- 
suredly bound by the written instructions of those to whom he com- 
mits the direction of the matter. And if during the course of the 
investigation he makes no effort to supplement these written directions 
by verbal counsel or advice and at no time does so, he cannot, having 
neglected to issue orders before the fact, hope to issue them after the 
fact and insist that the report shall contain the subject-matter of his 
desires after having failed to indicate such desires until after the re- 
port was made. 

If he is reasonable he will, too, in his questions take some account 
of the limits of time under which the work was performed and not ask 
to be shown that a body of work which would require a year has 
been done in three months. If he wants to know about the scope 
and methods of the work which has been undertaken he will, if he 
is sincere, and genuinely concerned about it, make an effort to talk 
it over with the person who has performed it. 

The directions under which the foregoing report was made were 
issued to me by Professor Paul H. Hanus, whom the Committee on 
School Inquiry of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment of the 
City of New York placed in charge of the educational aspects of the 
school inquiry. All negotiations as to my part of the work were con- 
ducted by him. I was never at any time asked to see any one else 
during the course of my study, nor have I seen any member of the 
committee up to this time. The text of Professor Hanus' instructions 
to me was as follows : " The work which I should like to assign to 
you is an investigation into the organization, methods, and records of 
the Board of Education, or so much of this work as it is possible 
for you to do. What I am particularly anxious to ascertain is, whether 
the conception of its functions which the Board of Education has is 
clearly defined; whether that conception is justified; and whether the 
organization and methods of the board tend toward efficiency. Natu- 
rally, whatever recommendations as to the function, organization, and 
methods we might make should be based on some such inquiry as I 
have indicated." 

There are certain things that I was not directed to do by these 
instructions, and one great thing that I was directed to do. I was 
distinctly not directed to find out and report how the Board of 



The " Two Hundred and Forty-One Questions " 243 

Estimate conducts the details of its business, nor what manner of 
intention, laudable or otherwise, moves its members in the various acts 
which they perform; but as the results of its action directly and im- 
mediately condition the activities of the Board of Education and the 
schools, the results of its action naturally came in for a good deal 
of attention. I was not directed to work out the natural history of 
specific and selected portions of the business which the Board of Edu- 
cation has transacted, whether with or without the approval of the 
Board of Estimate. I was not directed to make a study of this 
or that committee of the Board of Education and prepare a special 
report upon how it performs its work in detail, for as the time was 
limited, the persistent following up of the work of any single com- 
mittee would have taken me away from the larger task which I was 
instructed to perform. I was not directed to go out into the schools 
to find out by direct observation there what results seem to attend 
the activities of the Board of Education. I was not directed to make 
an audit of the books of the Board of Education, since this study is 
but one of a series of related studies, each on a special aspect of the 
school work; neither was I instructed to present all my studies in 
the form of tabulations or to collect and transcribe a prescribed num- 
ber of passages from the minutes of the board to accompany every 
fact which I might discover and record concerning the conditions 
which obtain in the board. Such a work of making tables for others 
to interpret and of transcribing extracts for others to base judgments 
upon belongs rather to a clerk than to one who is employed because 
his familiarity with the work which he is engaged to scrutinize has 
given him standards by which to measure the adequacy of its per- 
formance, and enabled him to select the features of it which have a 
determining significance and to make judgments which are sound re- 
garding it. 

I have not and am not prepared to undertake to collect evidence 
without interpreting it, or to report the names of the men who fur- 
nished the facts which I incorporated into the report. If a judicial 
investigation is ordered in which sworn evidence is taken and wit- 
nesses are protected by the court, I hold myself ready to assist by 
divulging all the sources of information which were opened to me. 

These things my instructions did not cover. The one thing which 
they directed me to do was to study and report upon the scheme of 
administrative machinery by which New York City attempts to con- 
duct its immense public school system. They defined a morphological 
study, not a historical one, and wherever documents have been used 
they have been used solely for the purpose of explaining how things 
are being done which are now being done. What the instructions called 
for and what the report attempts to set forth, then, is a cross-section 
of the system of administrative devices by which the public schools are 



244 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

conducted. It attempts to set forth exhaustively what the plan of 
school administration is, with just enough of how the administrative 
machinery works to determine whether or not it is sufficient for the 
undertaking and wherein it can be improved and made more adequate 
than it now is. The report is in no sense a report upon how the 
Board of Estimate and the Board of Education have conducted the 
details of the school business through a period of months or of years. 

Again, any report, any book, or any article, on any subject what- 
ever, since it is a whole of connected parts, must be read as a whole. 
Just as certainly as a brick in the carrier's hod has a different sig- 
nificance from the same brick laid up in the wall and carrying its 
share of the strain of the building, so is a sentence, which is a definite 
part of a paragraph or a chapter, when taken out of its context and 
made to stand alone. The sentences of a report are not fairly dealt 
with when they are dislocated and tested separately. This report was 
not read as a whole. It was read line by line, perhaps, but not line 
with line. 

The two requests addressed to me by the Committee on School 
Inquiry for such facts and evidence as I might have in support of 
the allegations and conclusions to which exception was taken were 
as follows, both requests being signed by the chairman of the com- 
mittee, Mr. John Purroy Mitchel. Please note their lack of relation 
to the subject of my instructions and the failure of the man who made 
them to read the report or to quote it exactly. My answers follow in 
each case. 

July 26, 1912. 
My dear Dr. Moore: 

I have read a summary of your report on the Board of Education 
and Local School Boards. I do not know how exhaustive the investi- 
gation was upon which your report is based. In order that I may 
understand its scope, will you kindly give me information upon the 
following points : 

1. Did you attend any meetings of the committees of the Board of 
Education not noted in your memoranda of time spent in work done 
for the Committee on School Inquiry? If so, what committees? 

Answer. It is very likely that I did. My record is not com- 
plete. But what is the purport of this question? The investigation 
at this point was an effort to discover how the committee work is 
performed. This was done by attending a considerable number 
of committee meetings until I was familiar with their methods of 
procedure and then reading and analyzing the typewritten and 
printed records of the meetings of each one of the committees 
for one year. One sees the committee best in its minutes if his 



The " Two Hundred and Forty-One Questions " 245 

investigation is not a personal one or an effort to follow specific 
items of business from their initiation to their conclusion, but is 
instead an attempt to find out what the committee does, how it 
does it, and what hindrances it meets in the doing of it. 

School board committees and their work are not new to me, as 
I attended most of the meetings of all the committees of a board 
of education for more than four years. 

2. Did you make a study to ascertain how much time in hours and 
minutes each of the committees of the Board of Education has given 
in consideration of the budget estimates of that department for each 
of the years 1908, 1909, 1910, and 191 1? If so, how much time was 
actually given by each committee in each year? 

Answer. I did not. Such an inquiry I have never at any time 
been directed to make. So far as I know there is no means of 
determining how many minutes a committee nominally gives to 
any matter save by being present at its meeting with a stop watch 
in one's hand, and making a written entry at once from the read- 
ing of the watch. Such an investigation might tell how many 
minutes the committee nominally spends on a given matter. It 
would not tell at all how many minutes of actual thought the 
committee gave to the matter. Psychologists have no means as 
yet by which to solve so intricate a problem. 

3. Did you ascertain how long the Board of Education itself, sitting 
as a board, considered the annual budgetary estimates of the Depart- 
ment of Education for each of the years 1908, 1909, 1910, and 191 1? 

Answer. I did not. Again I know of no practical means of 
doing this. 

4. Did you read the minutes of the Board of Education budgetary 
hearings before the Budget Committee of the Board of Estimate and 
Apportionment in October, 1910, and in 191 1? 

Answer. I did not; but I had a very thorough account of the 
hearing in October, 191 1, from a member of this investigating 
staff who was present at and took part in it. From his account 
I judged that little that was of profit to me in my investigation 
took place there. I am confirmed in the wisdom of my course 
by the fact that my investigation had nothing to do with the 
making of the budget, but only with the making of the estimates 
by the Board of Education and with the effect of the budget, after 
it was finally made, upon the educational work which the board 
is endeavoring to carry on. The estimates are prepared by the 
Board of Education and submitted in printed form. The dis- 



246 Hozv New York City Administers Its Schools 

cussion of them at the budgetary hearing has little or nothing 
to do with the making of the estimates. How budgets are made 
I neither was directed to study, nor studied, nor reported upon. 

5. Did you make a study of the minutes of the Board of Education 
and of its committees and of the minutes of the Board of Estimate 
and Apportionment and its committees, to ascertain whether or not it 
is difficult for the Board of Education to secure supplementary appro- 
priations, such as revenue bonds, between budget periods? 

Answer. I did make such a study of the minutes of the Board 
of Education and of its committees. On the whole it is very 
difficult and in some cases impossible, as the application for such 
supplementary appropriations is sometimes refused altogether and 
the process is always a tedious one, and one which naturally is not 
undertaken until there is no other way out of the difficulty. The 
relief almost always comes too late not to bring about a positive 
deterioration in the service. Quite apart from this, however, the 
issuing of bonds to pay running expenses is hardly sound financier- 
ing. A receiver would most likely be asked for for a private 
corporation which pursued that policy for any length of time. 

6. Did you consult with any member of the Budget Committee of 
the Board of Estimate and Apportionment concerning the making of 
the budget of the City of New York, and particularly concerning the 
budget of the Board of Education? If so, with whom and to what 
extent ? 

Answer. I did not, for the reason that my instructions did not 
call for a study of how budgets are made. My only connection 
with them was to find out what their effect was upon the work 
of the Board of Education after they had been made. It would 
have been presumptuous for me to report to the Board of Estimate 
how it goes about its work. That is well known to all its mem- 
bers. What is not known to them is what effect the results of 
their work have. My instructions confined me to this. 

7. Did you consult with the examiner of the Department of Finance, 
Mrs. Matilda Coffin Ford, in matters pertaining to the public schools, 
concerning the making of the Board of Education's budget and the 
accuracy of the allowances made by the Board of Estimate and Appor- 
tionment to the Board of Education? 

Answer. I did not, for the reason stated above, that I took 
the budget as a result. I am at a loss to know how the allow- 
ances can be " accurate " when they neither meet the estimates 
nor do the work which they were appropriated to maintain. 



The " Two Hundred and Forty-One Questions " 247 

Surely the " accuracy " which determines them so inexactly must 
be a form of academical accuracy based upon inexact or wrong 
theory. 

8. Did you consult with the Secretary of the Borough of Manhattan, 
who represents the President of the borough, in matters relating to the 
public schools? 

Answer. I did not, as the Secretary of the Borough has no official 
relation to the schools. What is the legal responsibility of the 
President of the Borough of Manhattan for the public schools? 
He appoints members of local school boards for his borough. All 
I know of him leads me to believe that he appoints good ones. 
Into matters of the appointment and personnel of local school 
boards and the general school board I did not go. It was quite 
beyond the limits of my instructions. 

9. Did you consult with the examiners in my office who deal with 
the estimates and interim requests of the Department of Education? 

Answer. I did not. As you did not find it necessary to see me 
from the time of my appointment until my report was made, I did 
not find it necessary to see them. As I was not investigating your 
office, but took its work as a given result whose consequences I 
was employed to inquire into and report upon, it seemed to me, 
and still seems to me, that my detail did not call for any con- 
sultation with any one in your office save your chief in charge 
of the educational aspects of the school inquiry, who directed me 
in all my work. 

10. Did you read the correspondence between the Chairman of the 
Committee on School Inquiry and the President of the Board of Edu- 
cation dealing with the plan, scope, and method of the school inquiry? 

Answer. I did not. I did not have time to go on a general 
dredging expedition of that sort. My orders were given me by 
your representative who nominated me to you and after my ap- 
pointment gave me the instructions which governed my detail. 
In addition I have carefully examined the resolution of October, 
1910, by which the committee was created and under which it is 
acting. I have talked with the President of the Board of Edu- 
cation a number of times about this investigation, but never 
gathered from him that you were leaving it to his office to 
direct me. 

11. Did you read the correspondence between the Chairman of the 
Vacant Lands Committee of the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund 



248 Hozv New York City Administers Its Schools 

and the President of the Board of Education dealing with the vacant 
and unused properties held by the Board of Education? 

Answer. As much of this correspondence as affected the work 
of the committees of the Board of Education and of the board 
itself, I read. As I was not detailed to make a report on unused 
lands, which is a subject already perhaps sufficiently exploited, 
but upon the methods which are now in use by the Board of 
Education in administering the schools, I did not single out this 
subject as one requiring an undue measure of attention. The 
selection of school sites as carried on at present is, I believe, ade- 
quately treated in my report. 

12. Did you consult the correspondence between the different mem- 
bers of the Budget Committee of the Board of Estimate and Appor- 
tionment and the President and other members of the Board of 
Education dealing with the budget estimates of the Board of Education? 

Answer. Yes. 

13. Did you read the minutes of the hearing of the Committee on 
School Inquiry on non-promotion and retardation where members of 
the Board of Education and its staff were heard? 

Answer. No. The investigation of non-promotion and retarda- 
tion was assigned to another member of Professor Hanus' staff. 

14. Did you read the minutes of the hearing held by the Committee 
on School Inquiry on methods and organization of the office of the 
City Superintendent and Associate Superintendents? 

Answer. No. For the reason that the investigation of methods 
and organization of the office of the City Superintendent and the 
Associate Superintendents was assigned by Professor Hanus to 
another member of his staff. 

15. Did you read the minutes of the Commissioners of the Sinking 
Fund dealing with the requests of the Board of Education for approval 
of leases of property for school purposes for the years 1909, 1910, 
1911, and 1912? 

Answer. No. First, because I was not investigating the Com- 
missioners of the Sinking Fund; and second, because the Charter, 
Section 1066, says that the Board of Education " shall have power 
to lease property required for the purpose of furnishing school 
accommodations and to prepare and execute leases therefor," and 
the present plan of committing this work to the Commissioners 



The " Two Hundred and Forty-One Questions " 249 

of the Sinking Fund is, as I have shown in the report, plainly 
illegal and very detrimental to the schools. 

16. Did you consult with the Appraiser of Real Estate of the Depart- 
ment of Finance, and did you study the records of his office to ascertain 
how much his office has saved in the purchase of school sites since 
lump sum appropriations for such sites have been discontinued and 
since his office has been passing directly upon proposed leases of the 
Department of Education? 

Answer. I did not. The school service does not exist to save 
money, but to expend it wisely and according to law for public 
educational purposes. The present method does not lead to wise 
expenditure for purposes of education. 

17. Did you consult with the chief of the Bureau of Municipal In- 
vestigation and Statistics and with the chief Auditor of Accounts of 
the Department of Finance in order to secure their statement on the 
good results flowing from segregated allowances of funds in the Cor- 
porate Stock Budget and in the Annual Expense Budget in the Depart- 
ment of Education? 

Answer. I did not. I cannot consider that " good results " can 
flow from conditions which impede the work of public education 
so greatly and which take away from the Board of Education 
both its general law and its charter-given right and duty to ad- 
minister all moneys appropriated or available for educational pur- 
poses in the City of New York. (Section 1060.) Moreover, the 
charter expressly directs the Board of Estimate and Apportionment 
and the Board of Aldermen "to indicate in the budget in raising 
the Special School Fund the respective amounts thereof which 
shall be available for use in the several boroughs." Surely these 
bodies are under the law and are not a law unto themselves. 

18. Did you confer with the Municipal Art Commission about time 
consumed in giving its approval to plans for school buildings and about 
the necessity for consideration of such plans? 

Answer. I did not. I have, however, figures in my possession 
which show the exact number of days consumed through a period 
of weeks in this process. About the " necessity " for such con- 
sideration of plans on the part of the Municipal Art Commission, 
I am convinced that it is desirable, provided first that it is legal; 
but Section 1973 of the charter declares that " all plans for new 
school buildings, and for structural additions to school buildings, 
and for structural changes in old buildings, shall be passed upon, 



250 Hoiv New York City Administers Its Schools 

and approved by the Superintendent of School Buildings, who shall 
submit such plans to the Board of Education whose action thereon 
shall be final." 



Questions Asked by Mr. Mitchel in a Letter of August 19. 

1. Omitted by the asker of the questions. 

2. Would you still say that the Board of Aldermen reduces school 
budgets in face of the fact that only once in twelve years it had 
done so? 

Answer. Yes, if I had ever said so, since the Board of Alder- 
men has just done so a second time. What I did state was the 
legal routine which must be observed and what is involved in it. 
Moreover, the text of the report in your hands before your letter 
was sent read " The Board of Aldermen then may reduce them." 
(See p. 4-) 

3. Please indicate where you want the two tables to go and if the 
footnote is needed. 

Answer. The introduction of this seemingly innocent inquiry 
has the appearance of editorial solicitude. The writer of the re- 
port was responsible for this and the maker of the question was 
not. (See pp. 4 and 5.) 

4. Please list definitely the legal functions of the Board of Education 
which have not been clearly determined, and those others which have 
not been enforced. 

Answer. This is a matter for the courts. The report from which 
you made the questions lists definitely among the functions of the 
Board of Education which have not been clearly enough deter- 
mined to be lived up to, the requirement of the general law that 
the business of public education shall be divorced from all other 
municipal interests or business. Also the charter provision, Sec- 
tion 1060, "The Board of Education shall have power to ad- 
minister and shall administer all moneys appropriated or available 
for educational purposes in the City of New York." Also Section 
1061, "There shall be in the City of New York as consti- 
tuted by this act, a board of education which shall have the man- 
agement and control of the public schools and the public school 
system of the City, subject only to the general statutes of the 
State relating to public schools and public school instruction and 



The " Two Hundred and Forty-One Questions" 251 

to the provisions of this act." Also Section 1062, " For the pur- 
poses of this chapter the Board of Education of the City of New 
York shall possess the powers and privileges of a corporation." 
Among the very clear provisions of the charter which have not 
been lived up to are the directions (1060) that "the General School 
Fund shall be raised in bulk " ; " It shall be the duty of the Board 
of Estimate and Apportionment and of the Board of Aldermen 
to indicate in the budget in raising the Special School Fund the 
respective amounts thereof which shall be available for use in 
the several boroughs " ; " the Board of Education shall have power 
to lease property required for the purpose of furnishing school 
accommodations and to prepare and execute leases therefor " 
(1066) ; " The Board of Education shall have power, subject to 
the provisions of law and of this act, to enact by-laws, rules and 
regulations for the proper execution of all duties devolved upon 
the board," etc. (1068) ; "All plans for new school buildings, for 
additions to school buildings and for structural changes in old 
buildings, shall be passed upon, and must be approved by the 
superintendent of school buildings, who shall submit such plans 
to the Board of Education, whose action thereon shall be final " 
(1073) ; "The Board of Education shall provide for the purchase 
of all books, apparatus, stationery, and all other things necessary 
and expedient to enable the schools of the City to be properly 
and successfully conducted" (1075). (See pp. 23-26.) 

5. Can you furnish any basis for the statement not supported in 
this present copy that the "fiscal authorities of the city seem to hold 
that the school system is in all respects a subordinate department of 
the city government " ? 

Answer. This question begs the question, as full evidence is 
supplied in the report. See particularly Judge Gaynor's decision 
and the Gunnison decision as to the sense in which the school de- 
partment is a city department. See also the preamble which the 
Board of Estimate uses in making the annual budget, in which it 
treats the school department just as any other city department. 
There is nothing in the treatment of the Board of Education by the 
fiscal authorities, in their attempted requirements as to uniformity 
of accounting, in their resolutions concerning the approval of build- 
ing plans, supply furnishing, the making of appropriations, and the 
official investigating of the work of the schools, which recognizes 
the fact that the school system is not on a parity with other city 
departments. As long as the fiscal authorities assume to tell the 
Board of Education what, when, and how it may do, they effectu- 
ally take away from the board its law-given right to manage and 
control the public schools. (See p. 23.) 



252 How Nezv York City Administers Its Schools 

6. Please support with facts the statement that the schools have 
been almost completely annexed to the City Hall. 

Answer. The statement is abundantly supported with documen- 
tary facts in the report. The constitution of the state and its 
general and special laws have been set aside by executive orders. 
A rankly illegal system of administration has usurped the place of 
the lawful one. To such an extent is this true, that the Foley 
bill which the legislature refused to pass seems to have been drafted 
for the purpose of providing legal warrant for a scheme of school 
administration which has come into existence and obtains without 
legal warrant to support it. (See p. 23.) 

7. Please indicate what, if any delay, or what, if any injury, resulted 
from the alleged encroachment by the Board of Estimate. 

Answer. It is self-evident that if the law prescribes a process 
with two steps and an executive order sets it aside and substitutes 
a routine of twelve steps, since it takes longer to take twelve steps 
than to take two, very great delay is inevitable and every such 
delay spells injury, since the work in hand is pressing. 

The table on pp. 254-257 shows the delays involved in the work of one 
department for a few weeks by the arbitrary setting aside of the char- 
ter provision that the action of the Board of Education in adopting 
building plans shall be final. (See pp. 23-41.) 

8. Please supplement your statement about the Board of Estimate's 
recommendation to the Board of Education re budgets for 1911-12, 
with a statement showing how far the Board of Education regarded 
these recommendations or observed its promises. 

Answer. The action of the Board of Estimate attempted to be 
much more compelling than a mere " recommendation." The reso- 
lution creating the General School Fund for 191 1 reads thus: 
" The above allowance for the General School Fund for the year 
191 1 is $1,740,143.43 in excess of the product of the three-mill tax. 
This extra allowance is made under the terms and conditions that 
the recommendations made by the Board of Estimate and Appor- 
tionment as to the apportionment of the entire fund among the 
various purposes of the General School Fund expenditure will be 
followed, said extra allowance being conditional upon the acceptance 
of the segregation indicated below." As the charter, Section 1060, 
says " The General School Fund shall be raised in bulk, and for the 
city at large," this action on the part of the Board of Estimate 
and Apportionment was plainly an effort to set the charter aside. 
The thing was illegal and the Board of Education had no other 



The " Two Hundred and Forty-One Questions" 253 

course but to refuse to be bound by it. This paragraph is omitted 
from the budget for the Board of Education for 1913 as adopted 
by the Board of Estimate and printed in the City Record of 
November 12, 1912. In its place the following phrase is substi- 
tuted : " Recommended apportionment of General School Fund," 
but code numbers are given to the segregations thus " recom- 
mended " and the fund is to that extent not raised in bulk. (See 
P- 25.) 

9. Can you supply evidence to show that the functional budget for 
the Special Fund has " paralyzed the public business " ? 

Answer. See the routine which Board of Education follows, 
pages 6 and 7. The text of the report does not say that the func- 
tional budget for the Special Fund has " paralyzed the public busi- 
ness." It reads : " Quite apart from the legal warrant for such 
procedure, it creates a circumlocution device for school administra- 
tion which tends to paralyze the public business and almost to 
defeat the objects for which the Board of Education was created." 
There are quantities of evidence scattered through the minutes of 
the Board of Education and of its committees that this is so. 
(See p. 25.) 

10. How many instances support your statement that the general 
staff of the Board of Education has been reduced "to the routine 
work of continually requesting the Board of Estimate to transfer 
money," etc.? Please cite them. 

Answer. This is not my statement. It is : " It tends to reduce 
the administration of the schools and the energy of the general 
staff, in large part to the routine work of continually requesting 
the Board of Estimate and Apportionment to transfer money from 
one fund to another, in order to meet the readjustments required 
in the school service." The minutes are full of this thing, and if 
one takes into account the energy which must be consumed in 
making ends meet which will not finally meet and then in hunting 
for some other way to make them meet, the truth of this state- 
ment will be self-evident. (See p. 25.) 

11. Please illustrate by figures, dates, or facts, your statement that 
aldermanic control over salaries and grades prevents keeping the 
schools clean, hinders necessary work or necessitates needless routine. 

Answer. Here again the text of the report is distorted. It reads : 
" There is pressing need for an immediate revision of the charter 
at this point, as the present provision prevents the keeping of the 
schools clean, hinders the necessary work in the school offices, and 



'54 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

DATA AS TO CERTAIN STEPS IN THE PREPARATION 

BUILDINGS AND 



School 


Location 


Art Commission 


Preliminary 
Filed App'd 


Final 
Filed App'd 


Boys' H.S. 


Marcy & Putnam Avs. 

B'k. Const. 
Heating and Ventilating 

Electric 

Furniture 




Apr. 26, 
1909 


Dec. 6, 

1909 


Jan. 18, 
1910 


W. I. H. S. 


15 & 16 Sts. & Irving PL 

Man. Const. 

Heating and Ventilating 

Electric 

Furniture 


May 9, 
1910 


May 9, 
1910 


June 30, 
1910 


July 5, 
1910 


1 68 


Throop Av. Bartlett & 

Whipple St. B'k. Const. 

Heating and Ventilating 

Electric 

Furniture 


Aug. 4, 
1910 


Sept. 
13, '10 


Sept. 7, 
1910 


Oct. 11, 
1910 


171 


Ridgewood Av. Lincoln & 
Nichols Av. B'k. Const. 
Heating and Ventilating 

Electric 

Furniture 


Sept. 7, 
1910 


Sept. 
I 3, 'io 


Oct. 10, 
1910 


Oct. 11, 
1910 


47 


Randolph, St. Lawrence & 

Hammond Avs. B'k. Const. 

Heating and Ventilating 

Electric 

Furniture 


Nov. 
14, '10 


Nov. 
15, '10 


Jan. 6, 
1911 


Jan. 10, 
1911 


40 


Pacific & Union Hull Sts., 

Q. Const. 

Heating and Ventilating 

Electric 


Nov. 
11, '10 


Nov. 
13, '10 


Jan. 5, 
1911 


Jan. 10, 
1911 



§ Indicates approval not required at that time, or, as in the 



The " Two Hundred and Forty-One Questions' 3 255 



OF PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR NEW SCHOOL 
THEIR EQUIPMENT 



Education 


Fire Dep't 


Building Dep't 


Highways Dep't 


Bldg. Com. 
App'd 


Bd. Ed. 
App'd 


Filed 


App'd 


Filed 


App'd 


Filed 


App'd 


Dec. 13, 
1909 


Dec. 22, 
1909 


§ 




Dec. 17, 
1909 


Jan. 10, 
1910 


§ 




June 20, 
1910 


June 22, 
1910 


§ 




Aug. 6, 
1910 


Sept. 
13, '10 


§ 




Sept. 26, 
1910 


Sept. 
28, '10 


§ 




Nov. 1, 
1910 


Nov. 
14, 'io 


§ 




Oct. 31, 

1910 


Nov. 9, 
1910 


§ 




Nov. 
15, '10 


Dec. 10, 
1910 


§ 




Jan. 9, 
1911 


Jan. 11, 
1911 


§ 




Dec. 30, 
1910 


Jan. 24, 
1911 


§ 




Jan. 30, 
1911 


Feb. 6, 
1911 


§ 




Mar. 2, 
1911 


March 
13, '11 


§ 





Dep't of Highways, that no permit was necessary. 



256 Hoiv New York City Administers Its Schools 

DATA AS TO CERTAIN STEPS IN THE PREPARATION 

BUILDINGS AND 



Dep't W. S 


,. G. & El. 


Finance Department 


Specifications 


Filed 


Approved 


Filed 


Approved 


Ms. 

Copy Sent 


Sent for 
Final 


§ 
July 15, '11 


Aug. 18, '11 


§ 
Jan. 11, '12 
June 27, '11 
Oct. 9, '11 
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Feb. 19, '12 
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Dec. 8, '09 

June 8, '11 

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Dec. 22, '09 

June 20, '11 

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§ 
It. Ill 

Aug. 15, 'ii 
June 17, '11 


and IV 
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§ 
Sept. 5, '11 
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Oct. 7, '11 
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§ 

May 26, '11 


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§ 
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Dec. 9, '10 
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Sept. 19, '10 
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Oct. 3, '10 
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§ 

May 8, '11 


May 15, '11 


§ 
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Oct. 25, '10 
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Jan. 12, '11 

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Jan. 30, '11 

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Jan. 2, '12 
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Feb. 28, '11 
Oct. 9, 'ii 


Mar. 23, '11 
Nov. 1, 'ii 


Feb. 6, '11 
Dec. 18, 'ii 
Oct. 9, '11 
Jan. 2, '12 
Nov. 27, 'n 
Apr. 1, '12 
Feb. 27, 'i 2 
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Apr. 21, '11 
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Jan. 11, '11 
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Jan. 28, '11 
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§ Indicates approval not required at that time, or, as in the 



The " Two Hundred and Forty-One Questions'' 257 



OF PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR NEW SCHOOL 
THEIR EQUIPMENT 



Specifications 
Manuscript 


Bids Opened 


Contract 
App'd Bd. of Ed. 


App'd Finance 

Dep't as to 
Financial Ability 


Pt'd 


Dec. 31, 1909 

June 26, 191 1 

Aug. 24, 191 1 
April 19, 191 2 
Oct. 16, 1911 


Adv. (Jan. 4 '10. See note) 

June 27, 1910 

July 31, 1911 

Oct. 2, 1911 
June 10, 191 2 
Dec. 11, 1911 


July 13, 1910 
Aug. 9, 1911 
Nov. 29, 1911 
Dec. 13, 1911 


Aug. 26, 1910 
Sept. 11, 1911 
Dec. 15, 1911 
Jan. 10, 1912 


Sept. 13, 1910 

Aug. 12, 191 1 
July 5, 191 1 
Nov. 14, 191 1 


Oct. 10, 1910 
Sept. 5, 191 1 
July 31, 191 1 
Aug. 21, 191 1 
Jan. 8, 191 2 


Oct. 13, 1910 
Sept. 13, 191 1 

Sept. 13, 1911 
Jan. 10, 191 2 


Nov. 29, 1910 
Oct. 25, 191 1 
Oct. 9, 1911 
Jan. 30, 191 2 


Oct. 7, 1910 
April 5, 191 1 
June 26, 191 1 
Jan. 15, 1911 


Nov. 14, 1910 
May 8, 1911 
July 31, 1911 
Mar. 25, 191 2 


Nov. 23, 1910 
May 10, 191 1 
Aug. 9, 191 1 
Mar. 27, 1912 


Jan. 4, 1911 
June 5, 191 1 
Sept. 5, 191 1 
May 3, 191 2 


Nov. 11, 1911 
May 12, 191 1 
May 22, 1911 
Oct. 16, 1911 


Nov. 28, 1910 
June 12, 191 1 
June 26, 191 1 
Mar. 25, 191 2 


Dec. 14, 1910 
June 14, 191 1 
June 28, 1911 
Mar. 27, 191 2 


Dec. 31, 1910 
July 24, 191 1 
July 29, 191 1 
May 3> 1912 


Feb. 4, 191 1 
Nov. 17, 191 2 
Jan.^5, 191 2 
April 25, 191 1 


April 17, 191 1 
Mar. 25, 1912 
Mar. 25, 1912 
June 17, 1912 


April 26, 191 1 
Apr. 24, 191 2 
Mar. 27, 191 2 
June 26, 1912 


May 22, 1911 
May 8, 1912 
May 3, 1912 
July 23, 1912 


Feb. 2, 1911 
Oct. s, 191 1 
Nov. 9, 191 1 
Feb. 27, 1911 


May 1, 191 1 
Dec. 18, 1911 
Jan. 22, 191 2 
Jan. 2, 191 2 
Jan. 22, 1912 

April 1, 1912 


May 10, 191 1 

Jan. 24, 191 2 
Mar. 27, 1912 
Jan. 24, 191 2 

April 10, 191 2 


June 19, 1911 

Feb. 13, 191 2 
May 13, 1912 
Feb. 21, 1912 

May 13, 1912 



Dep't of Highways, that no permit was necessary. 



258 Hozv New York City Administers Its Schools 

has, through the needless routine which it necessitates, cost the 
city something like a hundred thousand dollars through mistakes 
already made in fixing the salaries in the general offices of one 
department, as will be pointed out in Section XII of this report." 
(See p. 26.) For full and complete evidence of these things read 
the chapter on the Care of Buildings, and the chapter on the 
Offices of the Board of Education, 

12. Would you wish to insert any qualifications necessary to remove 
a seeming lack of compatibility between assertions by you and your 
colleagues as to lack of efficiency in organization, supplies, etc., and 
your diagnosis of difficulties? 

Answer. As I am the only person detailed by Professor Hanus 
to investigate the organization and work of the Board of Education, 
I have no desire to change the report. 

13. Will you indicate more clearly just where the confusion is about 
the relations of the fiscal department and the Board of Education? 

Answer. The confusion is as to their functions, as stated in the 
report. (See p. 27.) 

14. Will you furnish evidence, now lacking, that the various branches 
of the city government were in constant struggle with the Board of 
Education ? 

Answer. The struggle is " as to what the law is and what must 
and must not be done." The evidence is in the report. (See p. 27.) 

15. Please indicate in your list of steps taken (a) those which are 
taken within the Board of Education; (b) those which are not now 
taken but would be necessary if the fire department, health department, 
etc., did not inspect; (c) those steps which now accomplish no pur- 
pose and could be entirely dropped out. Can you give the facts for 
any one site showing the time required for each of these steps? 

Answer. The facts are as reported. A classification can be made 
from them. The procedure should conform to law. (See pp. 
28-30.) 

16. Is the 1906 illustration typical? Did the Sinking Fund Commis- 
sion hope to save money, or was it just meddling? Could you add to 
it a 191 1 or 1912 illustration? 

Answer. The 1906 illustration is typical of the difficulties which 
arise. There is no 191 1 or 1912 illustration, because the Board of 
Education weakly yielded some years ago. I am at a loss to know 
what could have prompted them to set aside the law. (See pp. 
33-41.) 



The " Two Hundred and Forty-One Questions" 259 

17. When here and elsewhere you say that steps seem to be of doubt- 
ful legal warrant, have you sought legal advice? Whom did you 
consult? 

Answer. I have, and that fact is noted in the report, together 
with the name of the office from which I had it. (See pp. 8 and 9.) 

18. You make the criticism that the present method " can hardly be 
improved upon as a means of defeating the ends for which a school 
system exists." Would you include those deficiencies which your col- 
leagues attribute to the defective use of present charter powers by the 
Board of Education? 

Answer. My statement is sufficiently clear. (See p. 40.) 

19. Can you cite illustrations of defects or delays or extravagances 
or other inefficiencies for which " responsibility can never possibly be 
fastened upon the man who made them " ? 

Answer. The $100,000 mistake in fixing salaries (p. 153). The 
illegal scheme of administration which now obtains. Other ex- 
amples of delays and inefficiencies are given throughout the report 
(See pp. 40 and 152.) 

20. In stating that initiative is " crushed out by the hopelessness 
which comes from thinking of the number of steps which must be 
taken/' etc., do you wish to refer only to inter-departmental relations, 
or do you include matters over which the Board of Education has 
complete control? 

Answer. Both. (See p. 40.) 

21. Will you cite instances of constant change in the interpretation 
of application of laws, ordinances, etc., issuance of new regulations and 
interpretations which now " produce a confusion and a wearmess in 
administration which deadens it"? 

Answer. Read the report as a whole, and the particular sen- 
tence on which the above is based as a whole. Changes in in- 
terpretation have taken place in the matter of fixing the pay of 
janitors, in the matter of auditing, in the matter of controlling 
funds as, for example, the general fund, in methods of inspecting, 
in the regulations governing allowances for repair work, in the 
requirements laid down for the making of estimates, etc., etc. 
(See pp. 40-42.) 

22. Please give illustration with dates and results of attempts made 
by the Board of Aldermen to locate schools, rent buildings, establish 
high schools, appoint teachers, and fix the course of study. Will you 



260 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

cite instances where they have done more than direct a respectful re- 
quest to the Board of Education? 

Answer. The report refers the reader to the minutes of the 
Board of Education for 1910 and 191 1 for illustrations. The re- 
sults of their attempts are not material. What is material is that 
without the color of law to warrant them in doing so, this board 
has repeatedly officially interfered in the school business. On 
December 6, 1910, the Board of Aldermen, by resolution, conveyed 
to the Board of Education " its earnest protest " against a rumored 
elimination of German and French from the curriculum of the 
public schools, the consideration of the expediency of so doing- 
having been forced upon the Board of Education by an arbitrary 
cut in its estimates by the fiscal authorities of the city. This is 
a case where the Board of Education caught it both going and 
coming. 

On December 13th, 1910, the Board of Aldermen adopted a reso- 
lution requesting the Board of Education " to have all school books 
and other matter printed in union printing shops in Greater New 
York, and not in other cities as is now being done." 

On the 20th of December, 1910, the Board of Aldermen adopted 
a resolution " that the Board of Aldermen request and they do 
hereby request the Board of Education to fill vacancies for men 
teachers as soon as such vacancies occur, and that all vacancies 
for men that now exist be filled by the appointment of men teachers 
when the next appointments are made." 

On June 21st, a resolution with a long preamble was adopted 
by them " recommending that the proper authorities hire " a cer- 
tain designated building in the Bronx for high school purposes. 

On November 22d, 1910, the Board of Aldermen requests the 
Board of Education to instruct their architect to ascertain what 
the cost of an annex to Public School 12, Westchester, would be 
and " report to this Board so that action toward securing funds 
for the erection of a new building may be taken." 

On February 15th, 1910, the Board of Estimate and the Board 
of Education are requested to establish a high school for boys and 
girls in the Bay Ridge section of the Borough of Brooklyn. 

Instances of official interference might be extended; they make 
a long list. Such official requests are not respectful, for they 
actually presume that the Board of Education shall remember that 
the Board of Aldermen has power to reduce the budget. They are 
issued as by a superior body to an inferior and dependent body, 
although Section 43 of the charter, which enumerates the powers 
of the Board of Aldermen, expressly declares that " nothing in this 
section shall be construed to impair the powers conferred by this 
act upon the department of education." (See p. 42.) 



The " Two Hundred and Forty-One Questions" 261 

23. If the Board of Education disregards the segregation made by 
the Board of Estimate in the general fund, and if the Board of Esti- 
mate does not refuse to make the transfer in the Special School Fund 
requested by the Board of Education, would you say that the Board 
of Estimate has up to date rendered the Board of Education a mere 
rubber stamp? 

Answer. The hypothesis is contrary to fact. Also, see the exact 
wording of the passage of the report upon which it pretends to 
be based. (See p. 43.) 

24. Can you cite any instance where the Board of Estimate has 
decided and determined what subjects shall be taught and what supplies 
shall be furnished? 

Answer., The text of the report states that " in effect " the Board 
of Estimate and Apportionment " administers the school affairs 
of the city, deciding and determining what subjects shall be taught." 
There are, however, instances where it has done so. The sum 
of $707,071.89 was asked in the estimates for 1912 for special 
branches. The Board of Estimate segregated the General School 
Fund and set apart $500,000 for special branches. Teachers in 
service would have had to be dismissed and some of the classes 
of the year before abandoned if the Board of Education had not 
resisted this illegal assumption of authority. Requests for money 
in the same estimates for the extension of school activities, as 
workshops, kitchens, kindergartens, science rooms, and for the 
equipment of the same were cut out. No new pianos were allowed, 
which, in effect, meant no new kindergartens for that year. Thus 
manual training, domestic science, laboratory science, and kinder- 
garten instruction were denied to perhaps thousands of children. 
In this way the Board of Estimate arbitrarily makes the course 
of study for them. (See p. 42.) 

25. If, in spite of the restrictions mentioned by you, the Board of 
Education is proved to have wasted money voted for supplies or in- 
tended for repairs, would you hold the Board of Estimate responsible 
for these results? 

Answer. Section 1060 of the charter says that "the Board of 
Education shall have power to administer and shall administer all 
moneys appropriated or available for educational purposes in the 
City of New York." It is responsible for what it does. The 
Board of Estimate is responsible for whatever interference with 
this specific and undoubted right of the Board of Education it 
attempts. To earmark funds for specific uses is one such inter- 
ference. (See p. 42.) 



262 Hoiv New York City Administers Its Schools 

26. Can you furnish an illustration of interference which will relate 
to the Board of Education instead of the one given by you which re- 
lates to the Normal College? Did you consult the correspondence 
which preceded the letter to the Corporation Counsel which you quote? 
Can you furnish a list of several such interferences? 

Answer. Section 1143 of the charter reads, "The said Board of 
Education, as trustees of said college, shall continue to furnish 
through the Normal College of the City of New York the benefit 
of education gratuitously to girls who have been pupils in the 
common schools," etc. This is only an ex-officio relation of the 
Board of Education. Any interference with them in it is still 
an interference with their functions. The correspondence which 
led up to the letter does not invalidate the letter or the Corporation 
Counsel's opinion. Another interference of similar nature is the 
resolution of the Board of Estimate of January 10th, 1909, " That 
this Board do and it does hereby establish a commission with 
power to investigate the justice, economy, and adequacy of the 
present and proposed schedules of salaries for the payment of 
teachers of the Department of Education," etc. (See pp. 43-44.) 

27. Please indicate what suggestions the Board of Estimate has ever 
made as to the educational records which should be kept by the Board 
of Education. 

Answer. No such statement is made in the report. The state- 
ment there is, " Some of its members feel called upon to suggest 
the kind of educational records which should be kept and to inter- 
fere with the educational economy of the system." Evidence of 
this can be furnished if needed. (See p. 43.) 

28. Did you consult with any representative of the Board of Esti- 
mate or of the Comptroller to learn whether such representative or 
representatives were less " familiar with the routine of school require- 
ments and the changing nature of school conditions than the school 
officials consulted"? If so, what did you find? 

Answer. In the nature of the case, they cannot be so familiar, 
not being on the job. (See p. 46.) 

29. Please cite instances of transfers " badly needed, being difficult 
to obtain and frequently unobtainable." 

Answer. The records show a good many such instances. Lack 
of space forbids more than sample instances here. On March 13th, 
1912, the Board of Education requested a transfer of $2000 from 
the wages, Temporary Employees Evening Lecture Centers Fund, 



The " Tzvo Hundred and Forty-One Questions'' 263 

191 1, to the Salaries of Janitors Fund, 191 1. Permission was re- 
fused on April 25th, 1912. 

On April 12th, 191 1, request was made for a transfer of $400 
from the Salaries of Janitors Fund, 1910, to the Contingencies, 
Truant Schools Fund, 1910. It was refused on May 4th, 191 1. 

On June 28th, 1911, request was made for a transfer of $10 from 
the Salaries, Office of the Superintendent of Buildings Fund, 191 1, 
to the Salaries, Office of the Superintendent of School Supplies 
Fund, 191 1. It was refused on July 13th, 1911. 

On September 20th, 191 1, request was made for a transfer of 
$50 from the Supplies, Truant Schools, 1909, to Contingencies, 
Truant Schools, 1909. It was refused December 14th, 191 1. 

The average time consumed in the making of a number of 
transfers in 191 1 was eighteen days for each. The fact that such 
transfers were badly needed is sufficiently shown by the board 
undertaking _ so roundabout and tedious a process to get them. 
What is objected to is not so much their number, though that 
represents a harassing degree of worry which is put upon the 
Board of Education, but the pestiferous and annoying character 
of this sort of espionage in which the Board of Estimate attempts 
to exercise supervision over even the smallest matters in the busi- 
ness of the Board of Education, though the charter expressly says 
that " the Board of Education shall have power to administer and 
shall administer all moneys appropriated or available for educa- 
tional purposes in the City of New York " (1060). A more effective 
service-defeating device than this could not well be imagined. It 
is illegal, it serves to complicate situations, delays the consumma- 
tion of important matters, and conduces to slackness and inefficiency 
of administration. (See pp. 47-48.) 

30. Will you indicate how the change of 2513 classes in 191 1 was 
made less or more flexible by the Board of Estimate regulations? 

Answer. The average class has about 40 pupils; 2513X40 = a 
shift of 100,520 pupils within the year. Now the Board of Esti- 
mate regulations attempted to fix the amount of money which might 
be expended for teachers of the several kinds during the year, thus 
striving to take away the freedom of the Board of Education to 
provide teachers freely within the limits of the general appro- 
priation. Then, too, funds must be available for the instant making 
ready of rooms at the moment they are needed. The funds are 
not available. New kindergartens, manual training, and domestic 
science rooms must be opened in places where they are not, because 
of the presence of numbers of new students, for whom the regular 
opportunities must be provided. Janitor service must be shifted 
and, since the work has increased, new rates of pay must be deter- 



264 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

mined. There must be a shifting in the clerical help of principals. 
The supply problem is complicated, but since the supply funds are 
not much subdivided, adjustment there is not so difficult. (See 
P. 48.) 

31. Did the Board of Estimate make it harder for the Board of 
Education to change its plans from a twelve-room to a twenty-six-room 
building? 

Answer. Not alleged in the report. (See p. 48.) 

32. Did you ascertain whether the facts which became available in 
November, 191 1, could not have been obtained by the Board of Edu- 
cation in March, 191 1? 

Answer. Not material to my inquiry. A speculative question. 
(See p. 48.) 

S3. Did you cite the reduction in janitor services, etc., as " crippling 
of activities"? Did the Board of Estimate give the relief promised? 
In the other illustrations, did you ascertain whether there was really 
lack of funds for purposes mentioned? Whether funds were found for 
other purposes equally needy? How much was spent that year for 
publishing the annual fiscal report of the Board of Education? 

Answer. This is administration, which according to law belongs 
to the Board of Education. (See p. 49.) 

34. How many of the proposed expenditures listed on galleys 418FF, 
419, and 420 were submitted to the Board of Estimate and denied by it? 

Answer. Money was asked in the estimates and denied. This 
is crippling. (See pp. 50-56.) 

35. Is the postponement (made by the Board of Estimate) of the 
increase in attendance officers' salaries explained by the fact that both 
the City Superintendent and the Associate Superintendents were stating 
at the time that a large proportion of these attendance officers were 
incompetent, as shown by the report of one of your colleagues in the 
school inquiry? 

Answer. No. The Board of Education could not carry out its 
contracts. The supervision of its force belongs to it. (See p. 50.) 

36. You criticise the Board of Estimate because funds were not avail- 
able in September to take over a trade school recommended for ab- 
sorption by the school system in the preceding July, when the budget 
of the Board of Education was compiled by it in the preceding October. 



The " Two Hundred and Forty-One Questions'' 265 

Will you indicate how an independent school system could have dealt 
with this question better than it was dealt with in the instance cited? 
Answer. It would have had a margin for such purposes. (See 
P. Si.) 

2,7. Have you noted any instances when money was voted by the 
Board of Estimate for workshops but not applied to such purposes 
and diverted by the Board of Education to other purposes? 

Answer. This is administration of schools, and belongs to the 
Board of Education. The Board of Education controls all school 
funds under the law. It does not divert school money when it uses 
it as seems to it best. 

38. Have you noted the failure of the board to use money voted by 
the Board of Estimate for anaemic classes? 

Answer. No. I have noted a great lack of money for this pur- 
pose during the period studied. 

39. Would you indicate which of these various expenses were re- 
quested in budget estimates and denied by the Board of Estimate and 
which, if any, of them could not have been foreseen at budget time? 

Answer. More money was asked for each of these purposes 
and denied by the Board of Estimate. Without prophetic insight 
it is not possible to forecast necessary expenditures in all details. 
(See pp. 49-56.) 

40. Will you indicate in how far the minutes of budget hearings 
show that such conditions as you point out were described to the 
Board of Estimate by the Board of Education? 

Answer. The estimates are submitted in writing, not in hearings. 

41. Will you indicate passages from reports of the City Superin- 
tendent of Schools or his associates and directors which give evidence 
that educational work is hampered? 

Answer. I have done so in the report. (See pp. 50, 53, 55; 
and 214-215.) 

42. Would it not be well to indicate, in footnote, the percentage of 
assessed valuation to actual valuation in 1903, giving a definite figure 
instead of "greater per cent of property valuations after 1903"? 

Answer. I do not think this is material to the facts I bring out. 
(See p. 58.) 



266 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

43. The committee would like you to put in a table which will show 
side by side the percentage increase of appropriations with the per- 
centage increase of attendance, i.e., 3.73 vs. 2.56; 4.68 vs. 1.64; 5.02 vs. 
4.65; 6 vs. 3.83, etc., etc. Would you give such facts by kinds of school, 
— elementary, high, training, etc. ? 

Answer. Table given here. 



APPROPRIATIONS BY BOARD OF ESTIMATE AND APPORTION- 
MENT—YEARS 1906 TO 191 2 

General School Fund and Special School Fund, Showing Percentages 

of Increases 



general school fund 




SPECIAL SCHOOL FUND 


Year 


Appropriations by 
Board of Estimate 
and Apportionment 


Per cent of 
Increase of 
Each Year 
Over Next 
Preceding 
Year 


Appropriations by 
Board of Estimate 
and Apportionment 


Per cent of 
Increase of 
Each Year 
over Next 
Preceding 
Year 


1906 
1907 
1908 
1909 
1910 
1911 
1912 


$18,754,238.72 
19,871,870.58 
21,038,075.22 
22,044,821.43 
23,130,014.40 
23,990,655.92 
28,421,601.04 


05-95 
05.86 
04.78 
04.92 
03.72 
18.46 * 


$4,618,765.72 

5,070,057.58 
5,674,888.37 
5,425,915.37 
5,448,418.03 
5,021,658.42 
5,435,097-io 


09.77 
11.92 

04.38 2 
00.41 
07.83 2 
08.23 


Per cent of Increase of 191 2 
over 1906 (new conditions) 
Per cent of Increase of 191 2 
over 1906 Cold conditions^ 


51-54 
31.01 


Per cent of Increase 
of 191 2 over 1906 


17.67 











1 Includes increase due to equal pay law. Under the conditions existing 
prior to the passage of said law, the increase would be but 02.42. 

2 Decrease. 



The " Two Hundred and Forty-One Questions " 267 

ATTENDANCE 

Showing Percentage of Increase of Each Year over Next Preceding 
Year. Daily Average in Thousands, all Boroughs 



Day Ele- 


Training 


Evening 


Voca- 


Day 


Evening 




mentary 


High 


tional 


High 


Elemen- 


Lectures 


Schools 




Schools 


Schools 


Schools 


tary Schools 




4.21 


10.47 


6.20 




6.98 


4-55 


9. n 1 


5.20 


16.47 


25.35 




19-39 


1.25 


16.75 


1.92 


15.48 


4.06 * 




15.70 


16.47 ' 


18.63 x 


1.50 


02.67 


7-83 


53i-i5 


10.57 


4.48 


8.20 1 


4.40 


05-25 1 


II.OI 


58.18 


7-56 


10.25 


2.18 



1 Indicates per cent of decrease. 



ATTENDANCE — continued 



Showing Percentage of Increase of Each Year over Next Preceding 
Year. Daily Average in Thousands, all Boroughs 



Truant 


Vacation 


Evening 


Vacation 


Evening 


Vacation 


Nautical 


Schools 


Schools 


Roof Play- 
grounds 


Baths 


Recreation 
Centers 


Play- 
grounds 


School 


7.30 1 


00.49 * 


8.05 


38.93 


2.27 1 


16.66 


10.25 


17-57 


9.40 1 


12.48 ! 


5-47 


16.79 


8.71 


11.63 


85-05 


14.10 


26.85 ! 


14.47 l 


8-39 


68.79 


11.46 


5.85 


11. 18 


15.98 


6-37 


20.53 


9-74 


12. 15 1 


3.16 


10.07 


2.13 


11.48 


37.89 


5.05 


29.78 x 



1 Indicates per cent of decrease. 



44. Please give your reason for adopting attendance as the basis of 
comparison rather than register which the City Superintendent has 
always maintained was necessary? 

Answer. I believe it to be nearer a correct or exact report of 
school conditions, though both are used, and should perhaps be 
used together. (See pp. 64-71.) 



268 Hozv Nezv York City Administers Its Sclwols 

45. Will you care to modify your comments on the reductions in 
Board of Education estimates or refer to Dr. Bachman's report on the 
method heretofore used in computing estimates? 

Answer. No. I have taken account of his report already. 

46. As the tabular matter on galleys 420-421 is taken from the re- 
ports of the Finance Committee of the Board of Education, will you 
consider the advisability of referring to that report and condensing 
your statement into a summary? 

Answer. No. I prefer to let it stand as it is. (See pp. 58-71.) 

47. Your figures are incorrect in several instances in tables on galley 
28. Do you prefer to verify and correct, or shall we make necessary 
corrections? 

Answer. No. I prefer to use figures furnished by the Board 
of Education. For several years during the discussion of " Equal 
Pay," alternative estimates were submitted, the one based on the 
assumption that conditions were to go on as they were, the other 
that equal pay legislation might be enacted during the year. Con- 
troversy as to what the exact figures of the estimates were is raised 
by playing one of these alternative sets of figures against the other. 
The budgets were made on the former basis and the figures of the 
Board of Education which I have used are correct. 

48. Is it still practicable to add the increase in cost by kinds of 
service? (See p. 70.) 

Answer. I do not understand what is meant here. 

49. Please give your reason for not including the amount of stock 
spent during a fiscal year in your statement " M." 

Answer. The allotment was not by years, even nominally, until 
July, 1910. (See p. 72.) The payments made on buildings under 
construction during any given year would not show the magnitude 
of the building operations under way for that year, as more than 
one year is usually required for the completion of one of these 
permanent buildings. Besides the expenditure of corporate stock 
after it has been authorized is greatly delayed by the getting of 
authority to go ahead. 

50. Will you please indicate any instance in which the entire amount 
of corporate stock voted by the Board of Estimate in the Corporate 
Stock Budget has not been available to the Board of Education at all 
times whenever it saw fit to use such sum? 



The " Two Hundred and Forty-One Questions " 269 

Answer. Consult the record of the case of the F. A. Clark 
Company vs. the Board of Education, now pending in the courts. 
Other instances might be given. (See p. 57.) 

51. When you say that the repair funds were " arbitrarily reduced," 
did you have in mind the method employed by the Board of Education 
in the years given to learn the amount of repairs needed, and the 
questions asked by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment to bring 
out such facts? 

Answer. The facts are as stated in the report. (See p. 57.) 

52. How much money was obtained by the Board of Education by 
the special act referred to to relieve the shortage of funds in the repair 
account? 

Answer. Not material; they were without funds. (See p. 72.) 

53. Were the changes of position by the Board of Estimate, referred 
to, made necessary by the very same conditions which were submitted 
at budget time or by some new conditions, i. e., was the addition to the 
supply fund in 191 1 for purposes which were denied when the budget 
was first voted? 

Answer. In part made necessary by the very same conditions. 
(See p. 74-) 

54. As you base statement on the percentage changes would you 
consider re-arranging table on pp. 64-69 so that percentage increase 
on attendance can be directly compared? 

Answer. Yes. I have done so in part above. (See answer to 43.) 

55. Did you find any instance where the Board of Education asked 
for more money than it expected and later expressed satisfaction with 
the reduced amount? In making your statement, did you take into 
account the available funds in various state funds? 

Answer.. The Board of Education did not; certain members may 
have expressed satisfaction, but not the board acting officially. The 
statements are complete for what they undertake to show. For 
state funds, see answer to question 141. 

56. Can you indicate advantages which the schools have obviously 
lost, caused by lack of funds as shown by any of the various inquiries? 

Answer. The results of the various inquiries are not in my 
hands. My report shows many advantages which have been 
denied. 



270 Hozv Nezv York City Administers Its Schools 

57. In criticising the Comptroller's requirements as to itemized bills, 
supplementary records, etc., did you consult any of the Comptroller's 
representatives or any recognized accounting experts in private or cor- 
poration business? 

Answer. I have worked with expert accountants in my own staff 
for some years. Simpler methods are possible and the Board of 
Education accounts are not city accounts as contemplated in Sec- 
tion 149 of the charter. (See pp. 75-77.) 

58. Were you familiar with the so-called piano scandals of the 
Board of Education and of the tremendous decreases in price which 
have been effected in various supplies? 

Answer. Not material to my inquiry. 

59. Did you notice whether the Auditor of the Board of Education 
makes any effort to give the equivalent of the auditing supervision re- 
quested by the Comptroller? Had you read the report of Accountant 
West in which he quotes various reasons given by the Auditor of the 
Board of Education for not having exercised such auditing supervision ? 

Answer. Not material to my inquiry. I was not detailed to 
investigate the Auditor's office. Mr. West's report has not been 
made available. 

60. Before repeating the statement that complying with the Comp- 
troller's request would increase cost from twenty-five per cent to thirty 
per cent, did you make any examination to learn whether this state- 
ment is true or false? If so, what examination did you make and 
what did you ascertain with respect to the experience of other depart- 
ments where the rule is enforced? 

Answer. Its source is given and its reason plain. It is used to 
show an unwarranted encroachment upon the by-law-making power 
of the Board of Education. The Committee on Buildings held 
that the power of the Board of Education to make its own by- 
laws was arbitrarily set aside by uniform accounting requirements 
which were thrust upon it. These, it believed, also materially 
increased the expense of doing the business. (See pp. 75-76.) 

61. In citing the deductions for absence in one month, did you ask 
what the total number of deductions for the year should be? 

Answer. My statement is correct for what it attempts to show. 
(See p. 76.) 



The " Two Hundred and Forty-One Questions" 271 

62. Would you mean to say that neither the Board of Education nor 
the Board of Estimate ought to know whether the losses occur and 
whether they may be reduced, as is alleged by the Board of Education 
itself? 

Answer. I would not, and have not. (See p. 76.) 

63. Before stating that the Comptroller's suggestion would delay the 
delivery of supplies, did you ascertain that such has been the result 
in other departments of the city? 

Answer. Immaterial, as it plainly would delay delivery here 
greatly. That is both self-evident and the result of experience. 
(See pp. 76-77-) 

64. Before committing yourself and permitting your colleagues to 
commit themselves on so important a question as " synchronizing " ac- 
counts, did you know that the important change you criticise released 
last year, by reconciling different department books alone, nearly 
$10,000,000? 

Answer. Actual dollars or accounts? And accounts of city 
departments? Whereas the accounts of the Board of Education 
are the accounts of an independent corporation, of a state depart- 
ment. (See p. 77.) 

65. Before making this criticism, did you attempt to ascertain the 
point of view or actual work of the Comptroller's department? 

Answer. I saw the effect of its work upon the school system. 
(See p. 77.) 

66. Will you furnish concrete illustrations to prove the " hindrance 
to efficiency" forced upon the Board of Education by the uniform 
method of accounting? 

Answer. Yes, they are in the report. (See pp. 75-76.) 

67. What evidence is there that " every change in officers at the City 
Hall involves a new system and method of doing city business"? 

Answer. There is an abundance of it which can be produced at 
a judicial hearing. (See p. 77.) 

68. Since you and your colleagues are committed to the extreme 
statement that " each department exists to perform its own work under 
conditions peculiar to that work which make its task different from 
those of other departments," will you show how, if at all, centralized 



2J2 Hozv Nezv York City Administers Its Schools 

accounting is less applicable to school matters than to hospital matters 
or police matters? 

Answer. Such uniform accounting as has been prescribed for 
the Board of Education is not desirable anywhere, for it puts 
record-making above work. What about the law? The courts 
have held that the schools are not on a parity with the other city 
departments. (See p. 77.) 

69. If you cannot point to such conditions, do you still mean to take 
the position that departments having different kinds of work cannot, 
as is actually being done for all national departments, be made more 
effective by a central and uniform accounting? 

Answer. It has not been done at Washington, and would be 
disastrous if it were, I believe. Standardized accounting is 
different. (See p. 77.) 

70. Do results show that the schools of Boston, Philadelphia, 
Indianapolis, etc., have had a larger percentage increase in appro- 
priations, year by year, than the schools of New York, or that the 
difference between the original estimates of amounts needed and 
amounts finally allowed is materially greater than in New York? 

Answer. General laws fix the maximum amount which these 
boards of education may levy for school purposes. Within this 
limit they levy what they require. The maximum is liberal enough 
to enable them to levy what they require for the schools. Their 
estimate and their budget are identical. (See pp. 78-85.) 

71. Will you give evidence that New York City's large board is 
" split up into factions " ? 

Answer. The evidence could have been had by attending the 
meetings of the board. (See pp. 85-86.) 

72. Can you furnish concrete instances to prove numerous unsup- 
ported assertions regarding things which the Board of Education has 
done and left undone? For example, if the board did not play a 
strong part in educational legislation affecting equal pay, what did it 
do? Will you give illustrations of " recommendations and suggestions 
which its own experts have made for the improvement of its work" 
and which it has not " sufficiently considered " ? 

Answer. If the board did not play a strong part, it played a 
weak one. This is shown by the lack of space in its minutes 
devoted to this important subject. The Mayor appointed a com- 
mittee to investigate it and the Board of Estimate thought it 



The " Two Hundred and Forty-One Questions " 273 

necessary to appoint another committee for the same purpose. 
This committee made a very effective and thorough report. But 
it belonged to the Board of Education to handle the matter, as 
Governor Hughes pointed out, and I have found no evidence that 
it went about it in this very exhaustive way. 

As to recommendations which have not been sufficiently con- 
sidered, those of the City Superintendent are a case in point. I 
may perhaps assume that " judicial notice " will be taken of the 
action of the board in regard to the merging of eligible lists. 

The judgments which are made concerning the things which the 
Board of Education has not done are due to standards which have 
been worked out through years of familiarity with the work of 
school boards, and a very careful study and analysis of the jour- 
nals of the Board of Education, attendance upon its meetings, and 
a number of talks with members and with those immediately con- 
cerned in its work. The truth of my statements has been publicly 
acknowledged by at least one very active and able member of the 
board. A close examination into its work at the time I made this 
investigation will verify every statement I have made. That, and 
not any incidents which may be given, is the only means of verify- 
ing the facts which I have had the honor to report. (See pp. 
86-87.) 

73. Is it not true that in many places fifteen would be considered 
too large a board? Do you not care to indicate a preference for any 
figure between five and fifteen? 

Answer. It is true, but fifteen is not generally considered too 
large a board for a large city. I am not interested in a specu- 
lation as to the exact number needed. What is essential is a board 
whose size will not prevent unity, comprehension of its work, 
and energy in performing it. (See p. 88.) 

74. When you speak of the " experience of the United States " 
against the payment of school boards, will you specify the places which 
have had such experience? 

Answer. San Francisco and Rochester now have it. (See pp. 
88-89.) 

75. Would you say that the citizens who are serving on the Board 
of Education in Rochester for $1000 a year are exceptions to your 
generalization ? 

Answer. I would not, since they may happen to be good or bad. 
The plan is bad. 



274 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

76. Will you make clearer what functions our New York board is 
assuming to itself which you feel should be given to educational 
experts? 

Answer. I have made this clear in the report. Making a course 
of study is a definite case. (See p. no.) 

yy. Is there any place in the country where the city superintendent 
of schools is the business manager, such as you describe? 

Answer. Yes, many. London, which is a larger community, is 
one. The others are too numerous to mention. In all, except a 
few of the larger cities, this is the method. (See p. 91.) 

78. Will you make it somewhat clearer how the Board of Education 
committees could be as efficient as you describe them and the adminis- 
trative results be so unsatisfactory as you find, i. e., if the Board of 
Education only meets and formally ratifies what committees have done, 
what harm can result? 

Answer. Lack of unity, energy, and coordinate planning, which 
does not prevent each committee from doing good internal work. 
(See p. 94.) 

79. Will you illustrate by some concrete instances how the educa- 
tional interests have been sacrificed by the confusion of authority among 
committees which you liken to "pride-protecting, independent states"? 

Answer. The report contains instances. (See pp. 98-100.) 

80. Will you illustrate the " delay in conducting the business of the 
board by retention of executive duties"? 

Answer. It is inevitable, and illustrations are abundant in the 
report. (See pp. 96-102.) 

81. Will you indicate "some of the more important matters" which 
the board has failed to consider? 

Answer. See report, pages 86-87, and your own question, 72. 

82. Will you indicate some cases in which the board has "tied the 
hands of its administrative staff"? 

Answer. The system does that. (See pp. 96-97.) 

83. Please indicate how the committees can be as efficient as you 
state earlier if they have no one to push the recommendations of 
special reports, etc. 



The Cl Two Hundred and Forty-One Questions " 275 

Answer. Their efficiency is internal. This is an external rela- 
tion and concerns special work by the staff, for the most part. 
The fault is with the system. (See pp. 95-96.) 

84. Will you illustrate the statement, " Thus extraordinary matters 
take much more time than the ordinary ones " ? 

Answer. Because so many investigations of them must be made 
in place of one authoritative investigation. Study the efforts to 
increase the number of anaemic classes in the minutes of the sev- 
eral committees. (See p. 99.) 

85. Will you give illustrations of delays in procuring and allotting 
supplies, due to changes made in the conduct of the schools, citing 
authorizations by the board for purposes for which no provision had 
been made in the budget? 

Answer. If a new course of study in drawing is put in during 
the year, it requires new and perhaps more expensive supplies and 
is a case in point. (See p. 101.) 

86. Will you indicate whether you conferred with the Secretary of 
the Central Committee, local school boards, Manhattan, or other offi- 
cers, or read the minutes of their various conferences? 

Answer. I did confer with an officer who is very active in that 
organization, who read and approved that section of my report. 
(See p. 101.) 

87. What have you to say concerning the handbook of instructions 
worked out by this Central Committee? 

Answer. I believe it makes the work too technical and much 
too complicated for lay members and school visitors to perform. 

88. Will you give concrete illustrations of duplication of work? 

Anszver. Ample illustrations are given in the report. (See pp. 
101-102.) 

89. Were not the same duplications of work found in the field 
where the City Superintendent has absolute power and for which he 
is the manager you advise? 

Answer. Where is this field? It is not known to me, nor in 
my detail. 

90. Is there evidence that the board, working through the executive 
committee in July and August, does business with greater dispatch and 



2j6 Hozv Neiv York City Administers Its Schools 

more efficiency than when working through forty-six members the rest 
of the year? 

Answer. It attempts only to keep up the routine business in the 
absence of most of the members, and very naturally. (See p. 103.) 

91. Will you make it clear how you would restate some of these 
charter provisions so as to differentiate the Superintendent's functions? 

Answer. I am not writing a charter, but can, if need be, do so. 
(See p. 104.) 

92. Will you quote charter provision specifically to justify the state- 
ment that strictly speaking the Superintendent " has no authority to 
guide and direct the schools whatever"? 

Answer. Yes. Read them all and tell what complete things he 
can do. (See p. 104.) 

93. Is your statement regarding supplies here compatible with your 
later statement that the delay in standardizing supplies is due to the 
inaction of the Superintendent? 

Answer. There is no such statement in the report. It reads 
"as yet the Board of Superintendents has not taken action." (See 
p. 221.) 

94. Who else but the Superintendent of Schools has anything to do 
with "proper organization of reports and statistical information"? 

Answer. An accounting interest. (See p. 105.) 

95. What charter provision prevents his coordinating these functions? 
Answer. The absence of the right one. (See pp. 104-105.) 

96. Would not the president of the board have authority to call con- 
ferences of bureau chiefs? 

Answer. Authority, but not time or knowledge of details of 
work. (See p. 105.) 

97. Do you not think you should modify your statement that there 
is "just one thing" which the Superintendent with his own authority 
can do by noting (1) that the power to prescribe blank forms is sub- 
ject to the Board of Education; (2) that he may reassign at pleasure 
eight associate and twenty-six district superintendents, enforce compul- 
sory education law, nominate and supervise attendance officers, and (3) 



The '"' Two Hundred and Forty-One Questions " 2jj 

that he may exercise indirect powers which have led your colleagues in 
this report to say that he has discouraged initiative in the Board of 
Education staff? 

Answer. Your correction is right in part, since it calls attention 
to a partial mistake. But your correction of this mistake is wrong. 
The City Superintendent is chairman of the Board of Examiners 
and assigns them to their various duties. He nominates the mem- 
bers of that board from a list prepared after competitive exami- 
nation by the Municipal Civil Service Commission. He prescribes 
the examinations. But this has been held to mean that he deter- 
mines the time of each examination, fixes the subjects of each 
examination and the lowest passing mark. The courts have held 
that the charter gives the City Superintendent power to compile 
all eligible lists, but the anti-merging law limits that right almost 
to the point of taking it away. Licenses may be issued only 
after examination by the Board of Examiners." Each license is 
good for one year. It may be renewed by the City Superintendent 
for three successive years and at the close of the third year may 
be made permanent. This implies that he may cut off "a license 
at the close of any year if the work is unsatisfactory. In the 
nature of the case this must be largely determined or entirely 
upon the judgment of others, such as principals, district and as- 
sociate^ superintendents, etc. The City Superintendent is chair- 
man of the Board of Superintendents and may assign the associate 
and district superintendents to their duties " subject to the By- 
laws of the Board of Education," Sec. 1078. On all matters 
that come before the Board of Superintendents, he has one vote 
in nine. His power to enforce the compulsory Education law is 
very incomplete. (See p. 50.) His power to "'• appoint such clerks 
as he may deem necessary" has also been greatly abridged. 
(See p. 152.) Indirect powers are unfortunate statements of duty 
and prerogative, for they inevitably lead to indirect action. It is 
to eliminate the necessity for this that the Superintendent's clearly 
denned powers should be extended. (See p. 107.) 

98. _ Will you indicate how, if at all, you would change the charter 

wording with respect to qualification and salary? How would you 
change the charter wording as to his authority on the educational side? 

Answer. Not material to this inquiry. I will provide this at an- 
other time if desired. (See pp. 106-107.) 

09. Does your statement that the Superintendent is but one in the 
Board of Superintendents "'without more authority than the others" 



278 Hoiv New York City Administers Its Schools 

need to be qualified by the fact that he has power to assign and re- 
assign them? 

Answer. Read the sentence as a whole. Authority in official 
meetings for the transaction of business is meant. (See p. 108.) 

100. Can you give illustrations to support the implication that the 
City Superintendent is prevented by his associates " from exercising 
more than the nominal functions of his office " ? 

Answer. What is said and meant is that this scheme of admin- 
istration makes him a titular head. (See p. 108.) 

101. Can you make recommendations as to present reports received 
by the Board of Education which will give it the benefit of " constant 
inquiry, regular records, and repeated reports," etc.? 

Answer. I cannot. I am recommending that a scheme of reports 
be instituted which will do this. (See pp. 109-110.) 

102. Can you give illustrations of complaints and of their handling 
at present? 

Answer. They are handled in the way I have indicated. (See 
pp. iio-iii.) 

103. Will you state definitely the number of teachers who come from 
outside the city? 

Answer. This question is not pertinent to anything said in the 
text of the report. It seems to refer to the sentence (p. in) : 
" The school system of New York is an inbreeding system," and 
the one which follows it, " There is a fence about it which has 
been made into a wall by the recent action prohibiting the merging 
of eligible lists." The school system is an inbreeding system. It 
has a fence around it and it ought to have a fence around it. 
That fence has not been too high to let in hundreds, perhaps 
even thousands of good teachers from other places. But how many 
superintendents and holders of directive positions has it admitted? 
If one goes to London he finds a goodly number of new men 
from the other cities of Great Britain in directive positions there. 
A kind of promotion by merit to superior posts at the capital 
obtains in the school system of the British Empire. This renews 
the life of the educational service. This policy obtains to but an 
insignificant degree in New York. New teachers come in. They 
must learn to fit themselves into conditions pretty definitely estab- 
lished before they came. In time they may be promoted, but they 



The " Two Hundred and Forty-One Questions " 279 

now represent the system in which they are promoted. The recent 
anti-merging law has made the fence into a wall around the school 
system. This law is bound to have disastrous consequences. Tabu- 
lations are of little significance here. What is needed is a clear 
understanding of principles and how they apply. 

104. Will you state definitely the number of teachers discharged each 
year? 

Answer. Impossible, but it is very small, as I have learned from 
a careful analysis of the minutes for a long period. (See pp. 
111-112.) 

105. Will you state definitely the number of certificates made into 
permanent license and the number not so made? 

Answer. This will be found in Professor Elliott's report, page 
78. (See pp. 111-112.) 

106. Will you show how far these discrepancies are due to law and 
how far to the present administration of existing law? 

Answer. See Professor Elliott's report for a discussion of this 
matter. (See pp. 111-112.) 

107. Please state in how many of the cities mentioned by you as 
having better organization than New York, medical examination is 
entirely with the school board. 

Answer. The cities are not cited as being the best in all respects. 
An overwhelming number of cities have found it to their advan- 
tage to put the medical examination of school children for impedi- 
ments to education under the control of the Board of Education. 
(See pp. 78-84.) 

108. Is it relevant that the reason New York's Department of Health 
has school nurses and school physicians is that it took the initiative and 
asked for money for these purposes before the school authorities re- 
quested or welcomed such help? 

Answer. Not as a determination of the proper method. (See 
p. 112.) 

109. Is there reason to believe that the Health Department has been 
less efficient in its supervision of physical examinations than has the 
School Department in that health supervision for which it is exclu- 



280 How Neiv York City Administers Its Schools 

sively responsible, i. e., health instruction so criticised by your col- 
leagues? 

Answer. The dismemberment of work whose parts belong to- 
gether causes this in part. (See p. 112.) 

no. Will you indicate the number of years for which cost, based 
on average daily attendance, has been kept? In stating that cost has 
been kept, have you had in mind that the Auditor disclaims keeping 
cost accounts and keeps only amounts of money spent, not cost? 

Answer. It is now being done. (See p. 113.) 

ill. Will you care to refer to the uniform reports now agreed upon 
by the National Education Association? 

Answer. Not material. I have the report and have used it. 
What we are suggesting and what is being done in New York 
goes ahead of it. 

112. What do you mean when you say that New York City "has 
not been free to employ the most scientific ways and means which 
have been perfected"? 

Answer. Confusion in administration has prevented it. (See 
p. 114.) 

113. Will you report any evidence found that the schools have 
already begun to give what you call " qualitative cost accounting " ? 

Answer. In New York, or elsewhere? There is evidence that 
the thing is being begun. (See p. 114.) 

114. Do you know of anybody in New York who is trying to have 
a "comparison of the total cost of school with school"? 

Answer. Not asserted. See Estimates, 1912, which were made 
in that form in accordance with the Comptroller's requirement. 
(See p. 116.) 

115. Is it not true that in cities and states which have the most 
efficient school reporting, facts are reported by schools and by cities? 
Would you say that comparisons between costs in different sections 
of New York City are without value? 

Answer. If the figures are anatomized both in New York and 
in other cities, but not otherwise. Such figures have value to those 
who can anatomize them, but hardly to the public at large. (See 
p. 116.) 



The " Two Hundred and Forty -One Questions " 281 

116. Does your metaphor as to keeping account of the money spent 
for food for the hand or the head, etc., apply to supplies, coal, janitor 
service, repairs, etc.? 

Anszver. See text of the report. It does apply to experiments 
made for the whole system. (See p. 116.) 

117. Inasmuch as the City Superintendent has always maintained that 
the proper unit is the register, not the attendance or the hour of in- 
struction, will you refer to that again here under " the proper unit " ? 

Answer.. I am not investigating the City Superintendent. (See 
p. 116.) 

118. When you say that the only reason cost accounting has not 
been started " is that sufficient clerical help was not available," will you 
cite requests in budget estimates for carrying out the plan you mention? 

Answer. Budget requests for a larger statistical force have been 
made and refused. (See p. 117.) 

119. Would not cost of instruction in each grade and each subject 
help school authorities consider the educational value of these subjects? 

Answer. How? See text of the report, page 117. 

120. Has any school department anywhere what corresponds to your 
proposed Bureau of Standards? 

Answer. I think none has, but that is not material to the value 
of the recommendation. (See p. 119.) 

121. With whom would the Bureau of Standards work if the Board 
of Superintendents is abolished, as recommended in the school inquiry 
report? 

Answer. The superintendents. See revised proof in your office 
when this letter was sent. (See pp. 1 19-120.) 

122. In recommending one statistical division, did you consult the 
recommendations of the special committee of the board made in 1905? 

Answer. Yes. (See p. 120.) 

123. Can you summarize here the work done by the Board of Edu- 
cation's special committee on reports and records? 

Answer. Not in shape when my report was made. 



282 Hozv Nezv York City Administers Its Schools 

124. Will you indicate who has been confused and with what results 
by failure of the fiscal and educational reports to "synchronize"? 

Answer. Immaterial to the truth of the statement. (See p. 122.) 

125. Will you care to suggest means of preventing waste of the 
Superintendent's reports if distributed among principals and teachers, 
such as printing digests, etc.? To how many of the local school board 
members are reports now sent? 

Answer. The English government charges a small fee; that pre- 
vents waste. Reports are now sent to the chairman of each local 
school board. (See pp. 123-125.) 

126. Do you care to suggest how many reports would be needed in 
New York to cover the demand? 

Answer, No. That requires special investigation. (See p. 123.) 

127. Will you state whether your criticisms and recommendations 
agree with those made by the board's special committee? 

Answer. Theirs were not available when mine were made. 

128. Is the secretary now responsible for the reports and minutes 
which you say need an expert? Are the salaries now paid to the 
secretary and to the various committee secretaries now responsible for 
this work sufficient to command expert service of this kind? 

Answer. I have no knowledge on this last point. I recom- 
mended an expert to look after mechanical preparation and print- 
ing of reports. The secretary prepares the reports. (See p. 125.) 

129. In speaking of the delay in publishing the major reports, do you 
care to note how soon after the end of the school year the Superin- 
tendent's report has been published for the last five j^ears? 

Answer. Professor Elliott is reporting upon the Superintendent's 
office. 

130. When characterizing budget estimate methods, will you state 
whether or not you found that the Board of Education has " scien- 
tifically and accurately " prepared its estimates heretofore with respect 
to matters not treated in Dr. Bachman's report on salary estimates? 

Answer. Not in my instructions to work out the history of this 
subject; that is not profitable. (See p. 128.) 



The " Tzvo Hundred and Forty-One Questions " 283 

131. Will you cite instances of "reckless cutting" of estimates or 
reckless inflating of them? 

Answer. I have not stated that " reckless cutting " is done, 
though it is, and a number of instances are cited in the report. 
(See p. 128.) 

132. Will you please state instances where " the Board of Education 
is told that the total amount of money to be devoted to school purposes 
has been determined before its estimates were considered"? 

Answer. I have not stated that it is done, but " if it is," etc. 
As a matter of fact it has been done, as the evidence taken at 
your " hearing " shows, and is entirely within possibility at any 
time and on the present method of raising school funds; a 
warning against it "if done" was not therefore untimely. (See 
p. 128.) 

133. Did you mean to imply that New York's Board of Estimate has 
heretofore been " unfamiliar with school routine, unaware of school 
interests, and unappreciative of school standards " ? 

Answer. Read the report, " Whenever the virtual responsibility," 
etc. (See p. 128.) 

134. When you state that the smaller school districts of New York 
State are " altogether better provided with funds " than is the Board 
of Education in the largest and richest city of the state and nation," 
will you give a comparison of the per capita appropriations or the per- 
centage increase, year by year, of some of these districts, or all of them, 
with New York City? 

Answer. Not material to statements of the report, as the law 
only is discussed. (See p. 128.) 

135. Did you discover evidence that in New York City there has been 
"bitter and frequently unjustified criticism of school authorities by 
the Board of Estimate"? Will you specify such instances? 

Answer. Not asserted. As a matter of fact, there has been far 
too much of it. Your quotation marks are not correctly placed. 
See the report, page 129. 

136. If you know of instances where the Board of Education failed 
to make its " estimates exact and scientific statements of its needs," 
will you give them? 

Answer. Not material to the statement of the text. (See p. 129.) 



284 How Nezv York City Administers Its Schools 

137. Did you discover any instance where the Board of Estimate 
prepared an estimate for the conduct of the schools? 

Answer. Not stated. (See p. 129.) 

138. Cannot the experience of " the greatest variable (i. e., high- 
priced teachers dropping out; low-priced teachers coming in), in the 
whole system" be ascertained by taking several years' results? 

Answer. Not exactly, but theoretically. And if the theory is 
used for more than it is worth the schools will suffer. (See p. 130.) 

139. Did you discover any plan worked out by the school authorities 
for progressively reducing the size of classes? 

Answer. Not in my instructions. Lack of funds has made the 
formulation of such a detailed plan impractical. As much is done 
as can be under present conditions, I am sure. (See p. 130.) 

140. Have you found instances where the Board of Education has 
asked for "a marginal item set apart for betterment of service," etc.? 

Answer. Not asserted. (See p. 132.) 

141. Did you undertake to learn whether the board has treated state 
funds and unexpended balances as such "marginal item" for years? 

Answer. From the budget for 1913 I take the following, which 
tells something about the disposition which is made of the state 
money : " General School Fund for the year 1913, the equivalent of 
three mills on every dollar of assessed valuation of the Real and 
Personal Estate in the City of New York, liable to taxation, as 
certified to the Board of Education by the Department of Taxes 
and Assessments, including so much of the State School Money 
apportioned by the Superintendent of Public Instruction to the 
City of New York, or any of the Counties contained therein, 
which State School Money when received shall be paid into the 
General Fund for the reduction of taxation." There are other 
state funds which are trust funds and may be used only for the 
purposes for which the state grants them. They are therefore in 
a very limited sense marginal to the other funds for school main- 
tenance. There are three such funds : 

1. Libraries and Apparatus High Schools 

2. Bonus fund High Schools 

3. Training School Fund 

From the first, expenditure can be made only for such books and 
apparatus as are approved by the Regents of the University. It 



The " Two Hundred and Forty-One Questions " 285 

cannot be used for general supplies. The regents check up the 
use of this fund strictly to see that it is used according to their 
rules. The restrictions governing the second fund are not so ex- 
acting. It is used as an auxiliary supply fund for high schools 
and taken account of as such. It was formerly known as the 
Literature Fund and its intent was to foster the purchase of edu- 
cational decorations, pictures, statuary, and special items required 
for the betterment of the high schools. It has been diverted from 
its original purpose and perhaps should not have been. It is 
apportioned as granted under the regents' formula. The third 
fund may be used for any purpose in training schools. It is 
apportioned as granted by the regents' formula. There is so great 
a shortage in high school supplies this year that the Board of Edu- 
cation has had to anticipate its December, 1912, apportionment of 
bonus money and issue orders in advance of its receipt, making 
an understanding with those who supply goods under this arrange- 
ment that they will wait for their money until the Bonus Fund is 
apportioned. Ordinarily this apportionment would be used in 1913. 

142. Will you list the experiments and extensions of work which 
have been financed out of such marginal items in spite of alleged 
insufficient budgets? 

Answer. None have been made. See answer to 141. 

143. Did you mean to imply that in New York City school officials 
have been forbidden to think of new departures as utterly impractical 
and not to be thought of from the first? 

Answer. In effect they have, in recent years. There was no 
encouragement to think of new departures during the school terms. 
(See pp. 132-133-) 

144. Did you verify your statement that the " Bureau of Buildings " 
observes and determines its requirements by means of carefully con- 
ducted local inspections? 

Answer. Not asserted in copy in your hands when this letter 
was sent. 



145. Did you compare some of the estimates submitted for repairs 
with later departure from such estimates after money was voted? 

Answer. Not material, as the Board of Education administers 
school funds under the law. (See pp. 133-134.) 



286 Hozv New York City Administers Its Schools 

146. Did you mean to imply that the initiative in getting a stated 
percentage allowance for repairs originated with the Board of Edu- 
cation Building Committee? 

Answer. No implication was made or stated. (See pp. I33 -I 34-) 

147. Will you include here the part that the charter contemplates 
local boards shall take in repair matters, if any, and the part which 
the local boards actually have played or should play? 

Answer. The charter passages are confusing and, I believe, un- 
workable in this particular. (See the chapter on the Local School 
Boards.) 

148. In saying that " deferred repairs mean extra expense when 
the work is finally undertaken," did you mean to contradict the state- 
ment in writing by President Winthrop to the Board of Estimate that 
there was no evidence of such increase having been entailed by former 
reductions in repair allowances? 

Answer. Deterioration goes on, which of necessity means extra 
expense. (See p. 135.) 

149. Will you state whether or not the superintending staff has 
heretofore made " careful investigations to furnish the basis for ac- 
curate figures" of supplies? 

Answer. Not asserted in copy of report in your hands when 
this letter was sent. 

150. Have you found instances of official statements to the Board 
of Estimate that " complaints from principals are numerous ; the chil- 
dren are not receiving enough supplies to carry out the course of 
study"? 

Answer. The Board of Education makes its official statement of 
its needs in its estimates, and they have been reduced in spite of 
its protests. (See p. 139.) 

151. In connection with the two estimates, general and special funds, 
can you give information as to the amount of time given by the Board 
of Education committees in the preparation of these estimates and by 
the Finance Committee as such? 

Answer. See answers to 2 and 3 of first list of questions. 

152. When you say that past failure "has been due to a positive 
inability to furnish the suggested information," etc., have you found 



The " Two Hundred and Forty-One Questions " 287 

no instance of radically wrong method and of such radically wrong 
method persisted in after attention has been called to it? 

Answer. Not asserted in copy of report in your hands when 
this letter was sent. (See pp. 142-143.) 

153. When you speak of the important plan for securing data re- 
garding the selection of sites, etc., would it be pertinent to mention 
who started that new plan? Please indicate the nature of the plan 
which it displaced, i. e., the plan that proceeded on the assumption that 
more schools were needed in the immediate neighborhood of schools 
with part time. 

Answer. I have not attempted to write the natural history of 
this school department. (See p. 143.) 

154. Please cite instances where buildings were obviously located in 
the wrong places. 

Answer. There are such instances and they can be had by in- 
quiring at the office of the Board of Education for them. 

155. Can you state the number of cases where " local school boards, 
civic bodies, individuals, and other agencies " have taken the initiative 
in proposing new schools or additions, and what evidence there is? 

Answer. No, but I have examined the evidence which is on file 
at the offices of the Board of Education. (See p. 143.) 

156. Is not evidence given in other reports that attention has not 
been heretofore given to requests from local school boards, etc.? 

Answer. Not material here. 

157. Do your investigations warrant so unqualified a statement as 
that " there is not an inch of waste space at any point " in the planning 
of New York school buildings"? 

Answer. Not asserted in report in your hands when this letter 
was sent. 

158. Do your investigations show whether in recent years confer- 
ences between the Board of Estimate representative and the Board of 
Education have saved or lost money, have increased or decreased the 
number and suitability of locations and buildings? 

Answer. Not pertinent to my instructions. I am not investi- 
gating how the Board of Estimate has gone about its work. 



288 How Nezv York City Administers Its Schools 

159. Do your investigations warrant any statement with respect to 
unused sites held by the Board of Education and the abandonment of 
sites on the ground that they are not in the right places? 

Answer. Not essential to a discussion of the system of school 
administration in an attempt to describe its working machinery 



160. Will you care to state the lapse of time between the sub- 
mission of the final Corporate Stock Budget for schools to the Board 
of Estimate, and its final adoption? 

Answer. I am not reporting how the Board of Estimate goes 
about its business. 

161. Can you give a record of overtime spent by the Board of Edu- 
cation clerical staff? 

Answer. Such records are on file at the offices of the Board of 
Education. (See p. 148.) 

162. Can you note the work which is not kept up to date? 
Answer. I have in part done so. (See p. 148.) 

163. Is the only reason why minutes are not " typewritten for some 
months back" that there is not help enough? 

Answer. That is the chief reason. (See p. 148.) 

164. Has the Board of Education stated these facts to the Board of 
Estimate when preparing its annual estimates? 

Answer. It has asked for larger allowances and has not gotten 
them. 

165. Did you verify the statement of the assistant secretary of the 
board that " practically no salaries for additional clerks have been 
allowed for five years"? 

Answer. Yes. (See p. 148.) 

166. Would you be willing to add the year 1907 to your table? 

Answer. Why? Is not three enough to show present conditions? 
(See p. 148.) 

167. Can you state quantitatively the "heavy burden of clerical 
labor " added to the school board by " the new methods of doing 
business with the Finance Department"? When you made this state- 



The " Two Hundred and Forty-One Questions " 289 

ment, were you aware that the Auditor of the Board of Education 
has thus far refused to comply with the alleged hampering require- 
ments ? 

Answer. This last does not invalidate the first. The heavy bur- 
den which this investigation alone put upon the offices can hardly 
be shown quantitatively. 

168. Did you find no unnecessary clerical work which could be dis- 
pensed with to provide for needed work without adding new workers? 

Answer. I am not reorganizing the offices or directed to make 
such an investigation. It is possible that a reorganization of work 
would relieve the pressure in some degree. But the fact is that 
the volume of business to-day is much greater than it was three 
years ago and no corresponding increase in the staff has been 
allowed. 

169. Did you mean that almost daily requests for statistical informa- 
tion for special purposes had come this last year for new matters? 

Answer. They are very frequent, and for a long time I made 
almost daily requests for such information myself. (See p. 149.) 

170. Will you give further illustrations to support the statement that 
the offices of the Board of Education " have become in large part a 
place of supplying information to other municipal departments"? 

Answer. This can be done, but the sample illustrations I have 
given are enough. (See p. 149.) 

171. Will you support your statements regarding special clerks with 
facts, i. e., what evidence have you that clerks are well trained, that 
salaries are low, that promotions come too infrequently, that oppor- 
tunity is better in other departments? 

Answer. See report as to transfers to other departments which 
would not ask for them if the facts were not as I have indicated. 
(See p. 150.) 

172. Please state what percentage of the total number of employees 
the transfers which have taken place in two years constitute. 

Answer. See your own statement in question 174. (See p. 152.) 

173. Would the resulting fraction show a high percentage of trans- 
fers and resignations? 

Answer. Yes, if both are taken, which you have not done. The 
process is still going on. (See pp. 150-151.) 



290 Hozv New York City Administers Its Schools 

174. You show five transfers in 1910 and sixteen in 1911. Do you 
call this "wholesale depleting of a staff of over 300 employees"? 

Answer. Yes, when taken with the resignations. Tastes differ 
in these matters. Personally I should be distressed by such a con- 
dition in my own staff. (See pp. 150 and 151 and Appendices C 
and D. 

175. Before stating that the consent and approval of the Board of 
Estimate to transfers takes away all flexibility and possibility of ad- 
justment, did you note the requests for adjustment made by the Board 
of Education and denied by the Board of Estimate? 

Answer. Not material to my statement. Flexibility is taken 
away by the system itself, which also seems to exist without legal 
warrant. (See p. 152.) 

176. Can you give an instance where the Board of Education has 
been unable to put a $600 clerk in a $750 position temporarily? 

Answer. Not asserted in the report. The illustration given indi- 
cates the defect of the system exactly. (See p. 152.) 

177. Before commenting upon uncertainty due to the Committee on 
Standardization of Salaries in city offices, did you attempt to ascertain 
what its purpose was? Have you any reason to believe that it will not 
standardize up as well as down? 

Answer. This is not the point. Every employee is now uncer- 
tain as to what his salary will be when "standardized." (See 
pp. 152-153.) 

178. When citing a loss of $100,000 due to an "unwitting increase" 
of salaries, did you attempt to ascertain the teachers' salary litigation 
due to unwitting mistakes by the Board of Education in matters where 
it has exclusive power? 

Answer.. Not material to the truth of my statement. (See p. 153.) 

179. Will you note to whom the Auditor's letter quoted was 
addressed? 

Answer. Not material. It is an official document. (See p. 153) 

180. Will you give facts to show that the board has not built up 
a permanent staff? 

Answer. See the tables showing transfers and resignations and 
remember the process still goes on. (See pp. 150-151.) 



The " Two Hundred and Forty-One Questions " 291 

181. What evidence have you that present salary schedules fix pay 
for persons instead of for positions? 

Answer. Not stated, but the opposite is stated. (See p. 154.) 

182. Do you consider that the reports which school superintendents 
have heretofore received " keep them officially informed " as to where 
new sites are needed? 

Answer. Reports of attendance do. (See p. 156.) 

183. In commenting on the mistakes " sometimes made in antici- 
pating future needs," did you review the list of sites not used by the 
board? 

Answer. Their number is given in the report. (See p. 162.) 

184. Will you give the exact figures for your statement " in almost 
nine cases out of ten the Board of Estimate requests the Board of 
Education" to substitute a site selected by the former? 

Answer. The exact figures are ten cases in ten, for the sites 
committee has found it useless to select them, since that counts for 
nothing in obtaining them, no matter how desirable. It therefore 
places the whole matter before the Comptroller's representative 
and he makes the decision which determines the location. (See 
P. 158.) 

185. Will you state whether the general effect of the Board of 
Estimate's so-called interference has been to locate buildings nearer 
to or farther from school centers and whether sites have been more 
or less expensive? 

Answer. This is not the point. The law makes the Board of 
Education select sites for school buildings, and they should be 
located for educational reasons. This pertains to the work of the 
school authorities and can be done well in the long run by them 
only. The law should, I believe, be changed so that the whole 
responsibility for sites should be in the hands of the Board of 
Education. The present division of functions is bad. Sites have 
not always been well located. (See pp. 158-159.) 

186. Will you indicate whether the idea of scientific study of sites 
originated with the Board of Estimate or Board of Education? 

Answer. I am not reporting on the natural history of these 
things, or investigating the details of the Board of Estimate's 
work. (See pp. 158-159.) 



292 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

187. Will you state what part the permanent census board has been 
asked to play in locating sites and whether it was the Board of Edu- 
cation or the Board of Estimate that called for this census? 

Answer. The working details of the new plan are not yet com- 
pleted. What has been done is reported. For the second part, 
see the answer to question 186. (See p. 160.) 

188. Will you estimate how much money you would regard as " suffi- 
cient funds " at the disposal of the Board of Education to enable it 
satisfactorily to anticipate its necessities before they become so 
pressing? 

Answer. Whatever is found to be needed. (See pp. 163-164.) 

189. In stating the steps in budget and Corporate Stock Budget pro- 
cedure, did you consult the minutes of the hearings before the Board 
of Estimate committees? 

Answer. Not material to anything in my report or in my in- 
structions. I am reporting only on estimates and the making of 
estimates, not on the making of budgets. 

190. Do you consider that the staff of the Bureau of Buildings did 
a heavy year's work in the year mentioned in view of the fact that 
they started the year with stock plans for schools which you refer 
to as economical and expeditious? 

Answer.. Not asserted. The fact that plans have been made 
for former buildings does not provide plans for new ones. (See 
p. 168.) 

191. By whom is the secretary's register of steps in building used 
for purpose of hastening construction? 

Answer. It is plainly not used for the purpose of hastening 
construction, but for the purpose of hastening and recording the 
making of the contract. (See p. 169.) 

192. Did you note whether this criticism of delays due to inadequate 
repair funds has been made in the formal estimates submitted to the 
Board of Estimate? 

Answer. The estimates are submitted in writing. It is the duty 
of the finance authorities who assume to cut them to find out 
whether such cut is justified and what effect it has upon the work 
which ought to be done. (See p. 180.) 



The " Two Hundred and Forty-One Questions " 293 

193. Have you found anywhere concrete evidence that any delays 
thus far caused have resulted in increased expenditures for " defective 
roofs, leaders, etc. "? 

Answer. Deterioration goes on and repairs are more expensive 
when they must at last be made. (See p. 180.) 

194. Will you care to state what effort you have made to verify 
statements and answers to questions to the building superintendent? 

Answer. A part are self-evident, a part documentary, a part 
are matters of expert opinion, and could only be verified by a 
board of architects of equal standing. The only thoroughly satis- 
factory and conclusive method of verifying them would be to call 
for a judicial investigation and put witnesses under oath. I certify 
these statements to be correct to the best of my knowledge and 
ability; they can easily be presented in the form of an affidavit 
if that is required. (See p. 180.) 

195. What effort is recorded in the Board of Education to secure 
these facts and to present them to the Board of Estimate? 

Answer. Representing the Board of Estimate, I had no difficulty 
m getting them. The Board of Education maintains quite properly 
that it, not the Board of Estimate, is charged with the adminis- 
tration of the schools. It naturally does not refer these matters to 
the Board of Estimate, but submits its estimates of its needs. 

196. In discussing methods of purchasing pianos, did you notice 
whether the method has changed since the so-called piano scandals? 

Answer. Not material to a statement of the method used now. 
(See p. 190.) 

197. Will you indicate difficulties experienced by the building com- 
mittee in securing transfers from one appropriation to another to 
meet emergencies, etc.? 

Answer. Emergencies require instant action. The chief difficulty 
is the time it takes. See also the court record in the case of the 
F. A. Clark Co. vs. the Board of Education, now pending. 

198. Have you visited the repair shops in Brooklyn? Will you in- 
clude a reference to the economies effected by repairing instead of 
throwing away desks, etc.? 

Answer. Not material to statements in the report. The limits 
of time forbade an exhaustive and all-inclusive report. 



294 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

199. Does the filing of a communication as to dry dusting, etc., 
cause you to modify your former statements as to uniform efficiency 
of committees? 

Answer. No. The committee is working short-handed as to 
funds. (See p. 195.) 

200. What evidence did you find that the Board of Education had 
been studying questions covered in your criticisms of conditions of 
buildings? 

Answer. The question is not definite. See the replies and docu- 
ments submitted by the Superintendent of School Buildings. (See 
p. 181, et seq.) 

201. In preparing your criticism as to care of buildings, what meet- 
ings did you have with different committees of the board? 

Answer. A number with the committee on the care of buildings, 
also with the Superintendent of School Buildings. The matter is 
fully discussed also in the minutes of the building committee. 

202. Did you consult the minutes of the committees that have taken 
up this salary question? 

Answer. What salary question? 

203. Will you describe any devices outlined by the Board of Edu- 
cation to pay janitors adequately? 

Answer. Not material to the statements of the report. Both 
their salaries and the total amount of money available for their 
work are fixed in the City Hall now. 

204. Will you indicate where and in what amount the " Board of 
Estimate made considerable reduction in the supply estimate for 1912"? 

Answer. 

Request Allowed by Bd. 

of Bd. Ed. Est. and Appor. Decrease 

Borough of Manhattan $533,484.39 $433,394-08 $100,090.31 

Borough of The Bronx 146,801.58 115,625.80 31, 17578 

Borough of Brooklyn 518,142.37 423,332.40 94,809.97 

Borough of Queens 112,532.72 93,432.00 19,100.72 

Borough of Richmond 30,303.75 25,267.22 4A36-53 

See page 211. 



The " Two Hundred mid Forty -One Questions " 295 

205. What notices, if any, has the Board of Education given to the 
Board of Estimate that the 1912 allowances were inadequate? 

Answer. Its estimates asked for more money for 1912 and it 
did not get it. See table above. 

206. What steps did the committee on supplies take to investigate 
the complaint made by the City Superintendent April 25, 191 1? 

Answer. Not material to the statement of the report. (See p. 
214.) 

207. Did you learn why the Board of Superintendents has failed to 
furnish the tariff necessary to standardize supplies? 

Answer. Not material to the statement in the report. 

208. Is it not true that in the last seven years $900,000 has been 
saved on fuel without decreasing the necessary heat, and that when 
lead pencils were standardized $13,000 was saved on that item also? 
Should not this be stated? 

Answer. Not material to my report; speculation. 

209. Did you learn whether and when inventories are taken? 

Answer. Supplies are inventoried in the schools at the close of 
school for the summer vacation, and in June and on December 
31st in the depositories for school supplies. (See p. 219.) A 
continuous inventory is maintained by the building department. 

210. Will you cite illustrations of changes in course of study with- 
out proper notice to the supply department? 

Answer. Any change made in the course of the year requiring 
a larger expenditure of money, when funds allowed were inade- 
quate. A recent change in the course in drawing, I think, is in 
point. (See p. 219.) 

211. Is your judgment of the method and efficiency of the free lec- 
ture system based upon your examination of the records or upon con- 
ditions actually observed? 

Answer. My statements have regard to the plan or system. To 
have studied the details of its working would have required as 
much time as I was allowed for the whole report. (See p. 224.) 



296 Hoiv Nezv York City Administers Its Schools 

212. Will you care to include power of a local school board through 
its secretary to call for school records, etc.? 

Answer. What records? I do not think it advisable that they 
should oversee records of pupils' standing, though records of at- 
tendance might advantageously be inspected by them. 

213. Did you attempt to secure from the Borough President of Man- 
hattan results of his examination of all minute books of local school 
boards? 

Answer. I did not, as I did not undertake the examination of 
their minutes. 

214. Have you noted any change in the activity of the boards since 
1910? 

Answer. This does not attempt to be a comparative study going 
back through several years. 

215. Will you include reference to the handbook prepared by the 
Manhattan Central Council? 

Answer. Yes. I think it makes the responsibilities of the local 
boards much too elaborate. 

216. Can you cite any local boards in New York which are doing 
the kind of work that you commend for local boards? 

Answer. See report on visitation in the chapter on the Local 
School Boards, pages 226 et seq. 

217. Would you say who should prepare the list of questions for the 
members of school boards to answer in their visits? 

Answer. What list of questions? They are not examiners. 

218. Will you give illustrations of interference by local school boards 
in class work? 

Anszver. Not pertinent, as it is not alleged in the report. (See 
p. 232.) 

219. Do you wish the statement to stand unqualified that the minutes 
of the Board of Education show " that its committees consider local 
board recommendations and act upon them"? 

Answer. Yes, for as a rule they do. (See p. 233.) 



The " Two Hundred and Forty-One Questions " 297 

220. Will you indicate matters which have not been, but which 
should be submitted to local boards for report and suggestion? 

Answer. I am not trying the Board of Education, but the gen- 
eral adequacy of the system. See the report for matters which 
should be submitted to them. (See p. 232.) 

221. Can you give the facts as to tardy local reports? 

Answer. Any one can get them who will go to the trouble, as 
I did, of going over all their reports for one year. The matter 
is not worth a table of dates, though that might be furnished. 
(See p. 228.) 

222. Can you give illustrations of helpfulness by local school boards 
to teachers and principals? 

Answer. Not material to my statement, for which I have docu- 
mentary proof. (See p. 233.) 

2.2.3. How many local school board meetings did you visit? 

Answer. Not material to an examination of how they perform 
their charter functions and duties. They reported for themselves. 

224. How many meetings of the central organization of school 
boards did you visit? 

Answer. I made arrangements to visit one. Because of the 
Titanic disaster it was not held. This is not an official, but a 
voluntary organization, seemingly a very good and helpful one, but 
not within the limits of our investigation. 

225. Did you confer with the borough presidents who appoint local 
board members or with the secretaries who represent them? 

Answer. I did not as I had no occasion to. I did confer, as I 
have said above, with one of the most active officers of the central 
organization. 



APPENDIX B 



A CHAPTER ON THE MAKING OF A SCHOOL BUDGET 

THE Board of Education of the City of New York submitted the 
estimates of its needs for the year 1913 in due form according 
to law to the Board of Estimate and Apportionment. It asked 
for the following: 

General School Fund, $30,952,602.91, which was an increase of 
$2,531,001.87 over its appropriations for 1912. 

Special School Fund, $7,364,047.67, an increase of $1,935,828.97. The 
need for these sums was set forth in elaborate statistical tables of 
actual expenditure for 1912 and very detailed explanations as to the 
shortages in present funds and the prospective needs of the board. 

Section 1060 of the charter declares : " It shall be the duty of the 
Board of Estimate and Apportionment and of the Board of Aldermen 
to indicate in the budget in raising the Special School Fund the re- 
spective amounts thereof which shall be available for use in the several 
boroughs. The general school fund shall be raised in bulk and for the 
city at large. The Board of Education shall have power to administer 
and shall administer all moneys appropriated or available for educa- 
tional purposes in the City of New York." 

When these estimates emerged in the form of a budget from the 
office of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment on November 6, 
1912, and were transmitted to the Board of Aldermen of the City of 
New York, they were preceded by a body of nine resolutions limiting 
the use of the funds appropriated, all of which resolutions prescribed 
the same rules and regulations to the Board of Education as to all 
other city departments. One of these resolutions read : " Resolved that 
the several Boards, Departments, Offices and Bureaus of the City and 
County Government are hereby directed to keep records dating from 
January 1, 1913, showing the cost price per unit, the number of units 
purchased, and the total cost of all articles, equipment, supplies, and 
materials purchased in 1913 and charged against appropriations made 
in this Budget; and such Boards, Departments, Offices and Bureaus 
are directed to submit to the Comptroller at the first of each month 
a statement of purchases made the preceding month, and also a state- 
ment of all articles of equipment, supplies and materials consumed in 
the preceding month." Imagine for a moment the labor involved and 
the inherent impossibility of meeting this requirement in a department, 

298 



A Chapter on the Making of a School Budget 299 

the volume of whose business required it to estimate its needs for the 
year for running expenses at $38,316,650.58! And note what an inter- 
ference with its by-laws which the law gives it the power to make and 
with its right and duty to administer all moneys appropriated for school 
purposes such a regulation involves. 

When the estimates of the Board of Education emerged from the 
office of the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, they looked like the 
following. Note particularly the compliance with the law which says 
specifically that the Board of Education shall administer all moneys 
appropriated for school purposes which is indicated under code num- 
bers 3453 and 3454, and compare the totals in the following budget with 
the totals of the estimates as given above. 



From The City Record, November 12, 1912. 

Department of Education, 

General School Fund. 

For the General School Fund for the year 191 3 the equivalent of 
three mills on every dollar of assessed valuation of the Real and 
Personal Estate in the City of New York, liable to taxation, as certi- 
fied to the Board of Education by the Department of Taxes and 
Assessments, including so much of the State School Money apportioned 
by the Superintendent of Public Instruction to the City of New York, 
or any of the Counties contained therein, which State School Money 
when received shall be paid into the General Fund for the Reduction 
of Taxation $24,614,587.29 

Additional amount allowed for the year 1913, in excess 
of the product of the three-mill tax 4,807,013.75 



$29,421,601.04 



Recommended Apportionment of General School Fund. 

3422. Day Elementary Schools $22,535,612.64 

3423. Day High Schools 4,035,784.91 

3424. Training Schools for Teachers 197,538-92 

3425. Vocational Schools 85,776.59 

3426. Parental and Truant Schools 28,744.85 

3427. Evening Trade Schools 79,397-00 

3428. Evening High Schools 357,607.00 

3429. Evening Elementary Schools 363,028.00 

3430. Vacation Schools, Playgrounds, Recreation Centers 

and Baths 250,000.00 

3431. General Administration 326,272.90 



300 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

3432. Special Branches in Day Elementary Schools . . . $725,790.34 

3433. Attendance Officers 118,417.89 

3434. Corporate Schools 252,630.00 

3435. Lecturers' Fees 65,000.00 

Total General School Fund $29,421,601.04 



Special School Fund. — Personal Service. — Salaries 
Regular Employees. — Administration. 

3436. Office of the Secretary $45,810.00 

3437. Office of the Auditor 66,450.00 

3438. Office of the City Superintendent of Schools . . . 77,520.00 

3439. Offices of the District Superintendents 20,489.86 

3440. Office of the Superintendent of School Supplies . . 154,420.00 

3441. Office of the Superintendent of School Buildings . 81,370.00 

3442. Office of the Supervisor of Janitors 12,450.00 

3443. Office of the Supervisor of Lectures 8,040.00 

Maintenance. — Bureau of Buildings, Division of 
Repairs, Tax Levy and Corporate Stock Force. 

3444TC. Tax Levy Allowance 134,933-33 

3445. Manhattan Truant School 5,240.00 

3446. Brooklyn Truant School 8,230.00 

3447. New York Parental School 15,600.00 

3448. Nautical School 29,750.00 

Salaries Temporary Employees. 

3449. Nautical School 675.00 

Wages Regular Employees. — Maintenance. — Bureau of 
Buildings, Division of Repairs. — Tax Levy and Cor- 
porate Stock Force. 

3450TC. Tax Levy Allowance 1,390.00 

3451. Tax Levy Force 59,770.00 

Wages Temporary Employees. — Administration. 

3452. Office of the Superintendent of School Supplies . . 620.00 

3453. Force for Efficiency and Statistics 23,000.00 

The above allowance of $23,000 for Force for Efficiency 

and Statistics is made by the Board of Estimate and Ap- 



A Chapter on the Making of a School Budget 301 

portionment under the terms and conditions that no con- 
tract shall be entered into for services to be paid out of 
this allowance without the approval of said Board. 

4354. Accounting Force $25,000.00 

The above allowance of $25,000 for an Accounting 
Force in the Department of Education is to be used for 
accounting purposes upon terms and conditions to be 
prescribed by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment. 



Maintenance. 

3455. Bureau of Buildings, Division of Repairs 1,844.50 

3456. Public Lecture Centers 34,000.00 

$806,602.69 
Supplies. — Food Supplies. 

3457. Truant Schools $25,669.48 

3458. Forage and Veterinary Supplies, Truant Schools . 1,049.20 

Fuel Supplies. 

3459. Borough of Manhattan 235,278.35 

3460. Borough of The Bronx 74,230.46 

3461. Borough of Brooklyn 236,787.65 

3462. Borough of Queens 87,155.50 

3463. Borough of Richmond 15,235.40 

3464. Office Supplies — Office of the Secretary 18,615.86 

3465. Office Supplies — Office of the Auditor 17,913.16 

3466. Office Supplies — Office of the City Superintendent 

of Schools 21,127.79 

Office Supplies. 

3467. Offices of the District Superintendents 2,117.34 

3468. Office of the Superintendent of School Supplies . . 14,291.99 

3469. Office of the Superintendent of School Buildings . 9,340.12 

3470. Office of the Supervisor of Janitors 451.03 

3471. Office of the Supervisor of Lectures 1,200.00 

3472. Offices of Truant Schools 5,200.00 



Laundry, Cleaning and Disinfecting Supplies. 

3473. Bureau of Supplies 37,309.52 

3474. Truant Schools 950. 00 



302 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

Educational and Recreational Supplies. 

3475. Borough of Manhattan $474,801.32 

3476. Borough of The Bronx 126,543.10 

3477. Borough of Brooklyn 464,571.42 

3478. Borough of Queens 102,135.35 

3479. Borough of Richmond 28,980.27 

3480. Office of the Supervisor of Public Lectures .... 13,300.00 

3481. Library and Laboratory Apparatus, Regent's Schools 42,124.00 

3482. Manhattan Trade School 500.00 

3483. Supplies for Athletics 5,000.00 

3484. Motor Vehicle Supplies — Bureau of Supplies . . 2,380.18 

3485. Truant Schools 500.00 

General Plant Supplies. 

3486. Truant Schools 500.00 



3491 
3492 
3493 
3494 
3495 
3496 
3497 
3498, 
3499 



$2,065,258.49 



Purchase of Equipment. — Office Equipment. 

3487. Bureau of Supplies $1,000.00 

Household Equipment. 

3488. Truant Schools 1,050.00 

Motor Vehicles and Equipment. 

3489. Bureau of Supplies 12,280.18 

Wearing Apparel. 

3490. Truant Schools 2,018.37 



Educational and Recreational Equipment. 

Borough of Manhattan 23,456.11 

Borough of The Bronx 6,251.41 

Borough of Brooklyn 22,953.49 

Borough of Queens 5,044.80 

Borough of Richmond 1,437.17 

Phonographs 3,000.00 

Playground Equipment 15,000.00 

Bureau of Public Lectures 9,600.00 

Libraries and Laboratory Apparatus, Regent's 

Schools 1,000.00 



A Chapter on the Making of a School Budget 303 

3500. Manhattan Trade School $500.00 

3501. Equipment of Athletics 5,000.00 



Equipment of Kindergartens, Kitchens, and Workshops. 

3502. Borough of Manhattan 12,240.00 

3503. Borough of The Bronx 9,180.00 

3504. Borough of Brooklyn 9,490.00 

3505. Borough of Queens 3,218.00 

Equipment of Ungraded and Open-Air Classes. 

3506. Borough of Manhattan 6,580.00 

3507. Borough of The Bronx 1,600.00 

3508. Borough of Brooklyn 2,600.00 

3509. Borough of Queens 1,600.00 

Equipment of Classes for Deaf, Blind and Crippled Children, 

3510. Borough of Manhattan 1,207.00 

3511. Borough of The Bronx 545-00 

3512. Borough of Brooklyn 2,275.00 

3513. Borough of Richmond 120.00 

Equipment of Gymnasiums in Old Buildings. 

3514. Borough of Manhattan 12,690.00 

3515. Borough of The Bronx 630.00 

3516. Borough of Brooklyn 13,980.00 

3517. Borough of Queens 1,560,00 

3518. Borough of Richmond 1,140.00 

Equipment of Public Lecture Centers. 

3519. All Boroughs 4,200.00 

Equipment of Vocational School. 

3520. Borough of Manhattan 4,550.00 

General Plant Equipment. — Furniture. 

3521. Borough of Manhattan 38,724.55 

3522. Borough of The Bronx . , 10,011.93 

3523. Borough of Brooklyn 22,471.41 



304 How New York City Administers Its Schools 

3524. Borough of Queens $3,729.64 

3525. Borough of Richmond 1,047.85 

Pianos. 

3526. Borough of Manhattan 8,480.00 

3527. Borough of The Bronx 1,060.00 

3528. Borough of Brooklyn 4,240.00 

3529. Borough of Queens 3,445.00 

3530. Borough of Richmond 1,060.00 



Janitorial Equipment. 

3531. Bureau of Supplies 42,268.13 

3532. Truant Schools 4,015.82 

$339,550.86 
Materials. 

3533. Bureau of Lectures $1,050.00 



Contract or Open Order Service. — General Repairs. 

3534. Borough of Manhattan 353,549-70 

3535- Borough of The Bronx 86,634.32 

3536. Borough of Brooklyn 324,612.40 

3537- Borough of Queens 93,025.38 

3538. Borough of Richmond 29,824.93 

3539. Truant Schools 75-°° 



Furniture Repairs. 

3540. All Boroughs $1,571,388.87 

3541. Borough of The Bronx 10,011.94 

3542. Borough of Brooklyn 22,471.41 

3543. Borough of Queens 3,729-64 

3544. Borough of Richmond . 1,047.85 

Piano Repairs. 

3545. Borough of Manhattan 2,600.00 

3546. Borough of The Bronx 1,200.00 

3547. Borough of Brooklyn . 3,200.00 

3548. Borough of Queens 1,200.00 

3549- Borough of Richmond 1,000.00 



A Chapter on the Making of a School Budget 305 

Janitorial Service. 

3550. All Boroughs $1,571,388.87 

3551. Public Lecture Bureau 9,000.00 

Transportation.- — Transportation of Pupils. 

3552. Borough of Manhattan 17,904.90 

3553- Borough of The Bronx 23,522.19 

3554. Borough of Brooklyn 14,732.25 

3555. Borough of Queens 42,466.60 

3556. Borough of Richmond 7,869.35 

Car Fare. 

Inspectors 4,565.00 

Teachers 1,861.29 

Truant Schools 1,306.56 

Expressage 775- 00 

Hire of Automobiles 805.00 

Storage of Automobiles 1,200.00 

Transportation for Public Lecture Bureau .... 600.00 

Communication. 

3564. Telephone Service 14,595-90 

3565. Messenger Service 2,600.00 

Motor Vehicle Repairs. 

3566. Bureau of Supplies 1,180.18 

3567. Truant Schools 200.00 

General Plant Service. 

Maintenance of Truants in Catholic Protectory . . 14,040.00 

Cartage of School Supplies 32,391.00 

Purchase of Water — Borough of Brooklyn . . . 2,500.00 

Purchase of Water — Borough of Queens .... 5,000.00 

Borough of Richmond 50.00 

Music for Evening Roof Playgrounds 12,672.00 

Rental of Tabulating Machines. 

3574. Bureau of Audit 882.00 

3575. Bureau of Supplies 1,080.00 

3576. Rental of Burglar Alarms 730.00 

$2,758,825.21 



306 Hozv New York City Administers Its Schools 

Contingencies. 

3577. Board of Education $12,500.00 

3578. Truant Schools 57-73 

3579. Public Lecture Bureau 900.00 

$13457-73 
Fixed Charges and Contributions. 

3580. Public Lecture Bureau — Rent $8,000.00 

Special. 

3581. Support of Nautical School • 22,291.28 

Total Special School Fund $ 6,015,036.26 

Total Department of Education 35436,637.30 

Next, the Board of Aldermen exercised its right to reduce these 
appropriations for educational purposes to the extent of $225,790.34, 
taking this sum from item 3432, which the Board of Estimate, con- 
trary to the provisions of the charter, had segregated to provide for 
the teaching of special branches, such as sewing, cooking, manual train- 
ing, etc., in the day elementary schools. Mr. John Martin, a very active 
member of the Board of Education, then made the following public 
statement in regard to this cut which gravely threatens the educational 
work of the schools : 

" While the action of the Board of Aldermen in cutting the 
budget of the Board of Education is unwise, it should be remem- 
bered that Messrs. Prendergast, Mitchel, and McAneny, who have 
sent the Mayor a protest against the cut, are themselves responsible 
for it. Had they not illegally segregated the General School Fund, 
the Board of Aldermen would not have had before it any separate 
item for teachers of special subjects, nor been invited to consider, 
contrary to law, what parts of the school curriculum they could 
stamp with their disapproval. 

" Precisely to prevent such action by political bodies, the law 
requires that the fund for paying teachers ' shall be raised in bulk 
and for the city at large,' its distribution being exclusively the 
function of the Board of Education. 

" The Board of Estimate and Apportionment last year took upon 
itself to dictate to the Board of Education exactly how the gen- 
eral fund should be distributed between elementary schools, high 
schools, evening schools, special branches, and the like, and en- 



A Chapter on the Making of a ScJiool Budget 307 

deavored to compel the Board of Education to become a party to 
this lawlessness by attaching to its appropriation the condition that 
the Board of Education should accept the segregation set out. 
Thereupon the Board of Aldermen also entered the game and 
made a further cut in the item for teachers of special branches. 

" This year the Board of Estimate Budget Committee has again 
overstepped its legal authority and thus invited the Board of 
Aldermen to do precisely the sort of thing it has unwisely done. 
The Board of Estimate and Apportionment cut down the appro- 
priation for specific activities. For instance, it allows for evening 
elementary schools $34,000 less for 1913 than is being expended on 
them in 1912, although this year's appropriation is insufficient, and 
the schools must be closed a week before the end of the session, 
unless a surplus can be found at the last moment in some other 
account. 

" Altogether, the Board of Estimate and Apportionment, accord- 
ing to its own statement, cut the appropriation for educational 
purposes by $2,908,000 and the Board of Aldermen by $229,790. 

" Is the cut by the Board of Estimate and Apportionment a proof 
of virtue and the cut by the Board of Aldermen a proof of vice? 

" The members of the Board of Aldermen would not affront 
the Budget Committee of the Board of Estimate and Apportion- 
ment by charging, as it charges against the Board of Aldermen, 
that its action was not ' honestly or intelligently designed to im- 
prove the city service or effect real economies/ yet it would be 
unfair to permit the impression to be created that the Board of 
Aldermen in this matter were greater sinners than others who 
dwell in the City Hall." 

So great was the public clamor against the action of the Board of 
Aldermen that the Mayor of the city appointed a day for a public 
hearing upon it, and after a spirited discussion of its effect upon the 
work of the schools the Mayor is reported to have announced his in- 
tention to veto this reduction if the Board of Education would stand 
by the original cut made by the Board of Estimate and not ask for 
special revenue bonds to run the schools during the year. 

On Tuesday, December 10, however, he sent a message to the Board 
of Aldermen announcing that " after most careful consideration I have 
determined not to disapprove of your cut of $229,790.34 in the budget 
of the Board of Education. You made a similar cut last year, and that 
board had no trouble in getting through the year without discharging 
any teachers. The trouble is that the Board of Education has per- 
sistently refused to furnish the Board of Estimate and your honorable 
body with the data which are essential to the consideration of its bud- 
get. We are all compelled to act thereon without any information of 



308 Hozv Nezv York City Administers Its Schools 

the amount of accruals of salaries in that board for several years past. 
We now know that last year there was a large balance at the end 
of the year in the Board of Education funds made up of such accruals. 
It was several hundred thousand dollars, at least. Presumably, there 
is such a balance existing this year. The Board of Education has re- 
fused to furnish us with the figures showing such accruals, and the 
total amount thereof. They say they have not a sufficient staff to keep 
such a record. I am not willing to accede to this, nor are my asso- 
ciates in the Board of Estimate, as I understand them, nor are you. 
The number of resignations and deaths of teachers each year is very 
large. Those who resign or die are succeeded by new teachers who 
are paid smaller salaries than were paid to those whom they succeed, 
as the salaries of teachers increase year by year by a certain established 
increment. From this source there is a very large saving in the salaries 
each year." 

The statement that the Board of Education has refused to furnish 
figures showing such accruals and the total amount thereof is a con- 
siderable distance from the fact, for on page I of its printed estimates 
for the year 1913 are the following sentences : " It will be observed that 
no deduction has been made from the General School Fund for the 
difference between the salaries of teachers who may leave the system 
at higher rates than those paid their successors. This item is very 
complicated and the causes and effects are so intangible and variable 
that it is practically impossible to reduce the item to a detailed arith- 
metical computation. The amount of saving i's contingent upon the 
number of teachers who may leave the system, the salaries of such 
persons, the salaries of their successors, the elapsed time between cessa- 
tions of service and appointments and the cost of substitute service in 
the interim. All of these factors are constantly fluctuating. It is be- 
lieved, however, that a deduction of $150,000 may be made from the 
total of the General School Fund as herein submitted." Now every 
city school superintendent knows that these figures are not only next 
to impossible to get and would require the time of a bureau of at least 
two or three persons, to collect them from day to day, but that when 
they are once compiled they have little or no exact relation to similar 
figures for the succeeding year. Prediction cannot be based upon them 
from year to year. If they had been taken for a long period, say of 
twenty years, they might furnish a curve which would have a certain 
hypothetical value in forecasting the future. But that has not been 
done and the Board of Education cannot now do it. Yet the most 
extravagant statements are made by city officials in regard to this 
matter. For example, the New York Tribune of Monday, November 
18, 1912, reports an address of Mr. John Purroy Mitchel, in which the 
following statement is ascribed to him : " The accrued salaries, due to 
resignations of well-paid teachers and the substitution of lower-salaried 



A Chapter on the Making of a School Budget 309 

teachers, constitute the ' margin of velvet,' which amounts to any- 
where from $500,000 to $1,000,000, and on which the Board of Edu- 
cation is able to institute expenditures for which appropriation has not 
been made." 

What are the facts? The aggregate amount of the salaries of 
teachers who dropped out of service for one reason or another for 
three years, from the time of their leaving the service to the end of 
the fiscal year, at the rate of pay they were getting when they left, 
was as follows : 

For the calendar and fiscal year 1909 $592,155.14 

For the calendar and fiscal year 1910 554 5 6i7.3<5 

For the calendar and fiscal year 191 1 551,992.25 

So that if the places of these teachers had remained vacant until the 
end of the year, the Board of Education would have saved the above 
sums. But they did not remain vacant. Other teachers were at once 
appointed to them, and the statement that the Board of Education 
saves at least several hundred thousand dollars per year from accruals 
is grotesque. Superintendent Maxwell declares that the funds on hand 
at the end of last year, which Mayor Gaynor describes above as a 
"large balance. It was several hundred thousand dollars, at least," 
actually amounted to $114,796.35, which amount is subject to the out- 
come of claims in litigation and other claims which may await presen- 
tation. The probable balance for this year will hardly exceed $20,000. 
All such funds remaining unused after the business of the year is 
completed lapse and pass into the fund for the reduction of taxation. 
They represent an insignificant margin of safety maintained by the 
greatest parsimony of expenditure during the year. They are them- 
selves the evidence of crippling in school department funds. 

Better evidence of the imperative need for providing for the necessi- 
ties of the schools without recourse to politicians and the exposure 
of the children to their inconsiderate and careless treatment would be 
hard to find. The method which Philadelphia, Boston, St. Louis, Mil- 
waukee, Pittsburgh, Denver, and Indianapolis were driven to employ 
is necessary in New York, to safeguard the welfare of the young and 
helpless. 



APPENDIX C 

TRANSFERS IN 191 2 



Name 


Title 


Office 


Salary 


Date of 
Transfer 


To Department 
Transferred 


Geo. McG. Archibald 


Clerk 


Supply Bureau 


$600.00 


May 22, 1912 


Water Supply 


Wm. S. Claffy . . . 


Steno. 
Type. 


Supply Bureau 


900.00 


May 31, 1912 


President 
Richmond 


Arthur J. Kennedy . 


Clerk 


Auditing Bureau 


600.00 


April 18, 191 2 


Water Supply 


William T. Maher . 


Clerk 


Auditing Bureau 


600.00 


May 17, 1912 


Water Supply 


Thomas J. Madden . 


Clerk 


Auditing Bureau 


600.00 


June 27, 1912 


Water Supply 


Isaac Meyerson . . 


Clerk 


Supervisor of 
Janitors 


300.00 


April 15, 1912 


Finance 


Mabel Seely .... 


Steno. 
Type. 


Secretary's 
Office 


750.00 


Nov. 1, 1912 


Water Supply 


Samuel Siegal . . . 


Clerk 


Supply Bureau 


600.00 


March 24, 191 2 


Water Supply 


Samuel Simon . . . 


Clerk 


Supply Bureau 


1,200.00 


Aug. 9, 1912 


Mayor 


James J. Smith . . 


Clerk 


Auditing Bureau 


600.00 


June 30, 1912 


Water Supply 


Frank L. Vock . . . 


Clerk 


Auditing Bureau 


660.00 


May 17, 1912 


Water Supply 



APPENDIX D 

RESIGNATIONS IN 191 2 



Name 



Title 



Office 



Salary 



Date of 
Resignation 



John P. Barrett . 
Wm. J. Camp . . 
Harry Cohen . . 
John F. Conahey 
Jas. T. Delaney . 
Eugene Duffy . . 
Reta A. Dussman 
Benjamin I. Factor 
Charlotte A. Friedhof 
Isidore Galef . . . 
Louis Goldstein . . 
Jacob Gordon ... 
Chas. E. Knapp . . 
Georgette L. Lasher 
Elizabeth M. McLaughlin 
Herman Miller . . 
Mary M. Naughton 
Jacob Olendorf . . 
Isidore Rosenberg . 
Chas. M. Schroeder 
Jos. F. Tisch . . . 
Pauline E. Xeller . 



Clerk 

Clerk 

Clerk 

Steno. & Type. 

Laborer 

Clerk 
Tele. Switch. Oper. 

Clerk 
Type. Copyist 

Clerk 

Clerk 

Clerk 

Clerk 
Steno. & Type. 

Clerk 

Clerk 
Steno. & Type. 

Clerk 

Clerk 

Clerk 

Clerk 
Type. Copyist 



Supply Bureau 

Supply Bureau 

Auditing Bureau 

Secretary's Office 

Supply Bureau 

Supply Bureau 

Secretary's Office 

Auditing Bureau 

Building Bureau 

Auditing Bureau 

Auditing Bureau 

Auditing Bureau 

Supply Bureau 

Building Bureau 

City Supt. Office 

Auditing Bureau 

Dist. Supt. Office 

Supply Bureau 

Supply Bureau 

City Supt. Office 

Supply Bureau 

City Supt. Office 



$600.00 
540.00 
300.00 
900.00 
750.00 
420.00 
750.00 
900.00 
600.00 
300.00 
600.00 
600.00 
300.00 
600.00 
900.00 
600.00 
7So.oo 
300.00 
300.00 
480.00 
540.00 
600.00 



June 19, 1912 
May 2, 1912 
June 29, 191 2 
Dec. 6, 1912 
Nov. 14, 191 2 
Dec. 6, 1912 
May 15, 1912 
Feb. 13, 1912 
June 30, 19x2 
Sept. 6, 1912 
Sept. 21; 1912 
Jan. 15, 1912 
Sept. 14, 1912 
Jan. 18, 1912 
Oct. 1, 1912 
Sept. 14, 191 2 
Sept. 3, 1912 
Oct. 31, 1912 
April 4, 1912 
Oct. 28, 191 2 
Nov. 7, 191 2 
Feb. 5, 1912 



Index 



INDEX 



Abbott's Municipal Corporations, 18. 

Accounting, force, 301; methods of, 
75; school, 113; uniform, 272. 

Accounts, synchronizing, 271. 

Acquiring sites, 155. 

Adams, R. H., 36. 

Administration, general, 299; good 
school, 87; plan of, 1; prevented, 
in; should be consolidated, 85. 

Administrative staff, 104. 

Air- washers, 188. 

Aldermen, Board of, 4; interference 
by, 260; power of, 42. 

Alterations and Repairs, 35. 

Anaemic children, 224. 

American School Hygiene Association, 
183. 

Answers to the two hundred and forty- 
one questions, 241. 

Apportionment of Inspectors, 176. 

Appraisal and investigation bureau, 1 20. 

Appropriation, by board of estimates, 
266; general school fund, 70; gen- 
eral school fund, and "Mill" Tax 
compared, 63; related to assessed 
valuation, 57; effect of reduced, 180. 

Appropriations, insufficient, 49, 205; 
school fund, 61. 

Assessed valuation, 57; per cent of 
increase, 70; real and personal prop- 
erty, 58. 

Athletics, Committee on, 2. 

Athletic league, the Public School, 2 24. 

Atlanta, 85. 

Attendance, average daily, 64-69; 
offices, 300; percentage of increases, 
70, 267; school, 1907-11, 5, 6; in 
twenty leading cities, 6. 

Auditor, report from, 153. 

Authority, conflicting, 198. 

Average attendance, percentage of 
increases, 70, 267. 

Average daily attendances, 64-69. 



Baltimore, average daily attendance, 6. 

Bases of figures used, 268. 

Baths, 299. 

Beardsley, L. A., 214. 

Bids, opening of, 168. 

Blackboards, no funds for, 54. 

Blind, children, 224; supplies for, 54; 
equipment, 303. 

Board of Education, its work, 109; its 
committees, 94; and department of 
finance, 77; and board of estimate, 
127; character and size of, 88; the 
kind needed, 85; does not do the 
work as a Board, 103; size of, 85, 
88, 273. 

Board of estimate and apportionment, 
vii, 4; and school work, 261; appro- 
priations by, 266; powers of, 23. 

Boards, offices and bureaus, 3. 

Bookcases, library, 138. 

Books, etc., purchase of, 24. 

Boston, 85; average daily attendance, 
6; charter, the, 78. 

Bronx, school premises and inspectors, 
178. 

Brooklyn, Board of Education v. 
Ridenour, 12; school premises and 
inspectors, 178. 

Buffalo, average daily attendance, 6. 

Budget Requests and "Mill products " 
compared, 62; per cent of increase, 
70; and special school fund, 73. 

Budgets, 60; for 1911, 252; the two 
school, 129. 

Buildings, and the supplies committee, 
191; bureau of, 300; care of, 192; 
completed, 174; committee on, 124; 
duties of, 165; construction of, 165; 
corporate stock budget for, 143; 
fireproof, 189; inspectors of, 172; 
owned or controlled by Board, 210; 
reports on condition of, 186; school, 
24; Superintendent of, 27. 



3i5 



316 



Index 



Bureau of investigation needed, 117; 

of lectures, 222; of supplies, 300; 

of standards, 119. 
Bureaus, boards and offices, 3. 
Business manager, the, 274. 
By-Laws committee, 2. 
By Laws and legislation, committee 

on, 39. 

Cabot, Dr. A. T., 183. 

Care of buildings, 192. 

Caretakers of athletic fields, 50. 

Car fare, 305. 

Carpenter, Professor, 182. 

Chapter, in the making of a school 
budget, A, 298; the omitted, viii. 

Charter, the N. Y. school, 1; the re- 
vised, 10. 

Charters of different cities compared, 
78. 

Character of the board, 88. 

Chicago, average daily attendance, 6; 
charter of, 81. 

Cincinnati, 84; average daily attend- 
ance, 6. 

City Hall, schools annexed to, 252. 

"City Record," advertising in, 7; 
Nov. 12, 191 2, 299. 

City Superintendent, duties of, 276; 
functions of, 104, 106; on supplies, 
214. 

Claims of janitors unpaid, 206, 207. 

Class room, rearrangements, 51; unit, 
the, 144. 

Cleaning and ventilation, 187, 195; 
supplies, 301. 

Clerical help inadequate, 148. 

Cleveland, 84; average daily attend- 
ance, 6. 

Columbus, 84. 

Commissioners of education, 18, 19. 

Committee, on buildings, 124; on ele- 
mentary schools, 124; on school 
inquiry, vii, 244; on sites, 155; the 
executive, 123. 

Committees, 2, 94; action of, 100; 
duties of, 96. 

Common schools, control of, 18. 

Compartmental system, the, 98. 

Compensation of janitors, 210. 

Completed buildings, 174. 



Condition, and organization, 4; of 
buildings, 186. 

Consolidation of administration, 85. 

Construction, of buildings, 165; con- 
tracts, 176; inspection of, 169. 

Contingencies, 306. 

Contracts, letting of, 168. 

Contributions, 306. 

Control of schools, 18, 42; and finance, 
75, 84; of state school system, 18. 

Cooking rooms, equipment of, 138. 

Corporate schools, force, 300; average 
daily attendance, 69. 

"Corporate Stock," 6; budget, the, 
57, 142. 

Cost, accounting, 115; based on aver- 
age attendance, 113, 280; reporting 
on, 113. 

Creation of board of education, 88. 

Crippled children, 224. 

Daily attendance in twenty leading 
cities, 6. 

Day elementary schools, 299; attend- 
ance, 267. 

Day high schools, 299; attendance, 
267. 

Deaf children, 224; blind and crippled 
classes equipment, 303; school 
equipment, 138. 

Defects in board of education, 86; of 
present system, 95. 

Defective children, 224. 

Deficiency of supplies, 214. 

Delays in construction, 252, 254-257; 
in work, 98. 

Demoralization of janitorial staff, 203. 

Denver, 84; average daily attend- 
ance, 6. 

Department of finance and the board 
of education, 77; and the board of 
health, 112. 

Detroit average daily attendance, 6. 

Director, educational powers of, 104. 

Disinfecting, etc., supplies, 301. 

Distribution of reports, 123. 

Division of records, 126. 

Domestic Science supplies, 217. 

Doty, John, 214. 

Draper, A. S., on boards and individu- 
als, 96. 



Index 



3*7 



Drawing supplies, 217. 

Dry Dock Realty Company, 35. 

Duplication of work, 102. 

Duties, of building committee, 165; 
city superintendent, 276; janitors, 
192; of local school boards, 226. 

Duty, the most important, of the 
board, 89. 

Education law of 1910, 18, 19. 

Educational and recreational supplies, 
301; director, the, 104; report of 
board, 121. 

Effect of reduced appropriations, 180. 

Electrical fund (special), 137; in- 
spection, 175. 

Elementary schools average daily 
attendance, 64; committee on, 2, 
124. 

Elementary science, supplies, 217. 

Employees of the board, 148. 

English, teaching to foreigners, 222. 

Equal salary bill, the, 17. 

Equipment, janitorial, 304; special 
rooms, 137. 

Equipments, various, 138, 302, 303. 

Estimates, Board of, 4, 127. 

Estimates of the board of education, 
298; for 1913, reduction in, 294; 
framing of, 46; how they should be 
made, 140; how prepared, 127. 

Evening elementary schools, 299; at- 
tendance, 267; average attendance, 
67. 

Evening high schools, 299; attendance, 
267; average daily attendance, 68. 

Evening recreation centers, 223; at- 
tendance, 267. 

Evening roof playgrounds attendance, 
267. 

Evening trades schools, 299. 

Examinations, medical, of school 
children, 112. 

Executive committee, 2. 

Expenditure on supplies, 215. 

Extension work, 222. 

Filing of records, 125. 
Finance and control, 75-84; com- 
mittee on, 2. 
Financial report of board, 122. 



Figures in report, source of, 268. 
Fireproof school buildings, 189. 
Fire signals, 189. 
Fiscal, authorities, the, 251; year, the, 

and the school year, 121. 
Fixed charges, 306. 
Foreigners, language schools for, 222. 
Free lectures, 224. 
Freedom for the schools, 77. 
Friction in making estimates, 129. 
Fuel supplies, 301. 
Function of board of education, 89; 

of city superintendent, 104, 106; 

of education board, 85; of general 

manager, 108; of local school boards, 

231. 
Funds, school, law concerning, 128; 

how controlled, 42. 
Furnishing of supplies, 211. 
Furniture, 303; inspection, 175; lack 

of funds for, 55; repairs, 304. 

Gas and electricity, 24. 

Gaynor, Judge, 11. 

General construction contracts, 176. 

General fund estimates, 130. 

General manager, 274; functions of, 
108; needed, 91, 92; qualifications 
for, 105, 106. 

General manager's staff, 107. 

General plant equipment, 303; sup- 
plies, 301. 

General repairs, 72, 175, 304. 

General school fund, 25, 299; appro- 
priations, 70, 266; budget request, 
70; appropriations compared with 
mill tax product, 63; percentage of 
increase, 70. 

Gilbert, Frank B., 9. 

Goldrich, L. W., 214. 

Good school administration, 87. 

Growth of schools, 57. 

Gulick, Dr. L. H., 183. 

Gunnison v. Board of Education, 14, 
37- 

Gymnasium, equipment of, 55, 138, 
303. 

Hanus, Prof. P. H., instructions, 
preface, vii; for the report, 242. 
Harrington, Dr., 183. 



3 i8 



Index 



Health, department of, 112. 

Heating and ventilation, 175; special 

fund, 137; engineers, American in 

stitute of, 183. 
High schools, 267-268, 299; average 

daily attendance, 65; committee, 2. 
Hogan v. Board of Education, 26. 
Household equipment, 301. 
Hughes, Governor, 17. 
Humidifying apparatus, 187. 
Hutchinson v. Skinner, 1, 11, 21. 
Hygiene American school association 

of, 183. 

Inbreeding system, in, 278. 

Increase in attendance, 62-69, 266- 
267; appropriation percentage of, 
266; percentage of, in attendance, 
267; of valuations, 58. 

Indianapolis charter, 80. 

Industrial training schools commit- 
tee, 2. 

Inquiry, committee on school, vii, 242; 
scope of the, 242. 

Inspecting staff organization, 175. 

Inspection districts, 175. 

Inspectors, apportionment of, 176. 

Inspectors of buildings, 172; con- 
struction work, 169; of janitor's 
work, 196; of sheet metal work, 181. 

Instructions by Prof. P. H. Hanus, 242. 

Insufficient appropriations, 49. 

Interference by board of aldermen,'26o. 

Inter-relation of departments, 104. 

Investigation, bureau of, 117. 

Janitors, assistants, 202; claims un- 
paid, 206, 207; compensations, 210; 
duties of, 192; salaries, 203; selec- 
tion of, 8; work, how inspected, 196. 

Janitorial equipment, 304; services, 
304; staff demoralised, 203. 

Jersey City, average daily attend- 
ance, 6. 

Johnson, T., 214. 

Jones v. Benton, 18. 

Kansas City Charter, 82. 
Keyser v. Board of Education, 21. 
Kimball, D. D., 183. 
Kind of board needed, 85. 



Kindergartens, equipment of, 138, 303; 

supplies, 217. 
Kirnbough v. Barrett, 18. 
Kitchen equipment, 303. 

Language schools for foreigners, 222. 
Laundry, cleaning and disinfecting 

supplies, 301. 
Law, concerning school funds, 128; the 

education, 9; of 1910, 18. 
Leases, 24; for offices, 33; how ar- 
ranged for, 28; new, for elementary 

schools, 28; new, for premises, 28; 

renewals of, 33. 
Leasing of premises, 8. 
Lectures and libraries committee, 2; 

attendance, 267; bureau of, 222; 

public free, 224. 
Lecturers' fees, 300. 
Legal functions of the board, 9, 250; 

status of the board, 10. 
Legislation, committee on, 2. 
Letting contracts, 168. 
Libraries and lectures committee, 2; 

nurses' supplies, 217. 
Library bookcases, 138. 
Lighting the schools, 8, 24. 
Local school boards, 101, 226. 
London, board of education, 274. 
Los Angeles, average daily attendance, 

6. 
Lumber supplies, 217. 

Maintenance, 300. 

Making a school budget, 298. 

Manager, general, needed, 91, 92; 
functions of, 108; qualifications of, 
105, 106. 

Manhattan, school premises and in- 
spectors, 176. 

Manual work teaching, 222. 

Martin, Mr. John, on reduction of esti- 
mates, 306. 

Medical examinations of children, 112, 
279. 

Mentally defective children, 224. 

Methods, of accounting, 75; of fur- 
nishing supplies, 211. 

"Mill" products and budget requests 
compared, 62; per-cent of increase, 
70. 



Index 



319 



"Mill" Tax, product of, 59^ 

Milwaukee, 84; average daily attend- 
ance, 6. 

Mimeograph supplies, 217. 

Minneapolis, average daily attend- 
ance, 6. 

Minutes of board and the executive 
committee, 124. 

Mitchel, Mr. John P., 242, 308. 

Moseley, Alfred, to the board of edu- 
cation, 118. 

Motor vehicles, 301; repairs, 305. 

Nautical schools, 306; attendance, 
267; Committee, 2. 

Newark, average daily attendance, 6. 

New Orleans, average daily attend- 
ance, 6. 

New York, average daily attendance, 
6. 

Normal College, the, 3, 43, 262. 

Number of school board members, 85. 

Nurses supplies, 217. 

O'Connor v. Hendrick, 20. 
Office equipment, 301; supplies, 301. 
Offices, boards and bureaus, 3; of the 
board, 148; leases of property for, 

Omitted chapter, the, viii. 
Open-air classes, equipment, 138, 303. 
Organization and condition, 4. 
Origin of the book, vii. 

Parental and truant schools, 299. 

Parental school, waitress at, 53. 

Payment of school boards, 273. 

Pens and pencils, supplies, 217. 

People, the, ex ret. v. Bennett, 17. 

Percentages of increases in appropria- 
tions, 266; in attendance, 64-69, 
266, 267. 

Personal service, 300. 

Philadelphia, 85; average daily at- 
tendance, 6; charter, 79. 

Physical training supplies, 217. 

Pictures, 55. 

Pianos, 137, 304; for kindergartens, 
55,56; how purchased, 190; repairs, 

304. 
Pittsburg, average daily attendance, 6. 



Plan of administration, 1 . 

Planning buildings, 165. 

Plans prepared in 12 months, 167. 

Playgrounds, 223, 229, 267; and speci- 
fications, 254-257. 

Portland, Oregon, 84. 

Power, funds for, 8. 

Premises, school, 176; leasing of, 8. 

Preparation of estimates, 127. 

Preparatory trade schools, 51. 

Principals associations, 213. 

Printed records and reports, 121. 

Procedure in making estimates, 141. 

Product of "Mill" tax, 59. 

Property, real and personal, valuation, 
58. 

Public, lecture bureau, 306; centers 
equipment, 303. 

Public School Athletic League, 224. 

Pupils, transportation of, 305. 

Purchase and equipment, 301. 

Qualitative cost accounting, 114-280. 
Queens, school premises and inspectors, 

179. 
Questions, answered, 241; summary 

of the, 241. 

Records and reports, 121; supplies, 

217. 
Records, division of, 126. 
Recommendations, a summary of, 235. 
Recreation centers, 223, 299. 
Recreational supplies, 301. 
Reduced appropriations, effect of, 

180. 
Reductions and transfers of funds, 72; 

by board of aldermen, 305; by board 

of estimates for 191 2, 294. 
Rejection of Prof. Moore's report, vii. 
Removal of school officers, 20. 
Renewals of leases, 33. 
Reorganization, need of, 9; of care of 

buildings, 199. 
Requisition books, for supplies, 216. 
Requisitions for supplies, 217. 
Repair Budget, how made, 134. 
Repairs, 304; and alterations, 35; 

division of, 300; general, 175. 
Reporting on cost, 113. 
Reports, distribution of, 123; and rec- 



320 



Index 



ords, 121 ; and statistics, 105; of 
superintendents; on care of build- 
ings, 197. 

Resignations, 151; in 1912, 311. 

Richmond, school premises and in- 
spectors, 179. 

Ridenour v., Board of Education, 
11. 

Roof playgrounds, 267. 

San Francisco, average daily attend- 
ance, 6. 

St. Louis, 85, average daily attendance, 
6; charter, 82. 

Salaries, 43, 45, 300; fixing, 153; how 
fixed, 26; of janitors, 203; power to 
fix, 43; schedules, 8, 149. 

Sanitary inspection, 175. 

School, a state institution, 11; ac- 
counting, 116; as a unit, 140; at- 
tendance in twenty cities, 6; attend- 
ance, 1 907-1 1, 5-6; boards, pay- 
ment of, 273; budget, making a, 
298; building fund, 1898-1911, 71; 
fund, the, 25; appropriations, 61; 
budgets increase, 60; premises, 176; 
year and fiscal year, 122. 

Schools, annexed to city hall, 252; 
must be free, 77. 

Science Rooms, 137. 

Scientific study of need for sites, 158. 

Scope of the inquiry, 242. 

Seattle, 84. 

Selecting sites, 157. 

Service, janitorial, 304. 

Serving supplies, 217. 

Shallow, assoc. supt., on salaries, 50. 

Sheet metal, work inspection of, 181. 

Simplification of accounting methods, 

75- 

Sinking fund commissioners, 37. 

Sites, 35, 291; acquiring of, 155; com- 
mittee on, 2; corporate stock 
budget for, 142; selection of, 6. 

Situation in regard to sites, 161. 

Size of education board, 85, 88, 273. 

Smaller boards necessary, 85, 97. 

Snyder, C. B. J., 135, 170, 181. 

Sources, of the figures in the report, 
268; of information, 293. 

Special branches, 300; school fund, 



amount available, 73; appropria- 
tions, 266, 300; estimates, 133; rev- 
enue bonds, 159; rooms, 137; sup- 
plies, 217; schools committee, 2. 

Specifications, 254-257. 

Staff of general manager, 107. 

Stair doors, closing of, 190. 

Standard, of accounting, 116; of teach- 
ing force, in. 

Standards, a bureau of, 118. 

State commissioners, report to, 122. 

State funds and unexpended balances, 
284. 

State institution, the school a, 11. 

Stationery supplies, 217; deficient, 

53- 
Statistics and reports, 105. 
Statistical division, 120. 
Stephenson, John, 189. 
Steps in the preparation of plans and 

specifications for buildings, 254-257. 
Sterling, G. L., on teachers' salaries, 

43, 45- 
Storehouse, a central, needed, 210. 
Studies and textbook committee, 2. 
Summary of recommendations, 235; 

of the questions, 241. 
Summer schools, 222. 
Superintendents' reports, 123. 
Supplementary school activities, 222. 
Supplies, committee, 2, 52; division 

estimates, 139; furnishing of, 210; 

fuel, 301 ; general plant, 301 ; office, 

301; tariff of, 219. 
Supply requisition books, 216. 
Synchronizing accounts, 271. 

Tabulating machines, renting of, 305. 

Tariff of supplies, 219. 

Tax levy force, 300. 

Teachers from outside the city, 278. 

Teaching force, standard of, in. 

Temporary buildings, 33; employees' 

salaries, 300. 
Textbook and studies committee, 2. 
Textbooks, condition of, 53; how 

chosen, 219. 
Thermostats, 55. 
Thompson, Maurice, J., 214. 
Toledo, 84. 
Trade schools, preparatory, 51. 



Index 



321 



Training school, attendance, 267; aver- 
age daily attendance, 66; commit- 
tee, 2. 

Training schools for teachers, 299. 

Transfers and reductions of funds, 
72. 

Transfers in 1911, 150; in 1912, 310; 
needed, 262, 263. 

Transportation of pupils, 305. 

"Tribune," the New York, 308. 

Truant schools, attendance, 267. 

Tuberculosis children, 224. 

Typewriter supplies, 217. 

Unexpended balances and state fund, 

284. 
Ungraded classes, equipment, 138, 303. 
Unification needed, 198. 
Uniform accounting, 272. 
Unit, the proper, 116; the school as a, 

140. 
Unpaid janitors' claims, 206, 207. 

Vacation, baths, attendance, 267; 

playgrounds, 267; schools, 223; 

attendance, 267. 
Vacuum cleaning plants, 188. 



Valuation and school growth, 57; of 

real and personal property, 58. 
Vance, Rufus A., 214. 
Ventilation, and cleaning, 187; and 

heating fund, 137. 
Vocational high schools, attendance, 

267. 
Vocational school for boys, equipment, 

138. 
Vocational schools, 299; committee, 

2; equipment, 303. 

Wages, 300. 

Walrath v. O'Brien, 21. 

Washington, average daily attendance, 

6. 
Water supply, 24. 
Wearing apparel, 301. 
Wiley v. Alleghany Co., 18. 
Wilsey, Hon. Frank D., 181. 
Winslow, Dr. C. F. A., 183. 
Winthrop, Hon. Egerton, L., Jr., 35,43. 
Woodbridge, Prof., 182. 
Work, duplication of, 102. 
Working men and women, lectures to, 

224. 
Workshops, 50; equipment of, 138, 

303; supplies, 217. 



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